Light Within the Darkness
by DodgerHolden
Summary: Bella was kidnapped by James at the age of fourteen. She escapes two years later by chance, but the situation leaves her dead inside. Jasper is not mated to Alice and he makes it his sole mission to make Bella feel something again. Roughly follows Twilight. Bella/Jasper pairing. Contains THE MAJOR.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- **Okay so this is my first ever Twilight story, I did write a oneshot a long time back though. I've been writing Gilmore Girls for a while and spent a lot of my time reading Bella/Jasper stories and I wanted to try my hand at one of my own.

Bella was kidnapped two years ago, she escapes by chance, but the incident leaves her dead inside. Jasper isn't mated to Alice and makes it his sole mission to make Bella feel something again.

**Disclaimer- **I don't own Twilight it belongs to Stephenie Meyer

Enjoy

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><p>Bella sat there, underground, huddled in a corner. Just waiting for him to come back. She had lost track of time, and even lost herself. He was the only one she could rely on, he was the only constant in her life. Without him there, she would just fade away into the darkness. Time ticked by. He always came back, they spent hours together. Bella didn't know how long had passed, but she knew that it was too long. She sat, she waited. He brought her food, water, he kept her alive. Without him she couldn't survive, she was nothing. A creak, he was back. She rejoiced and strained her ears. Nothing, silence. She pulled her knees tighter into her chest. She sat there for ages, not moving, straining to hear his return. He always returned, he would return. Soon it became too much. Bella was beyond starving and her throat was dry. He told her to stay put, to never leave. She always listened, but she was so hungry. She sat some more, waiting for him to return, but soon she could take it no more.<p>

Bella stood up. Her legs were stiff and sore. She didn't know how long she sat there and waited, waited for him to return. She stretched herself out and then slowly made her way up the stairs. She wasn't supposed to go up the stairs, she wasn't supposed to leave, but she had no choice. She reached the top and opened the door slowly. She prayed that he would be on the other side of the door, that he would be waiting for her. Without him she had nothing. She looked around the door, nothing, no one. She shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight as she made her way through the house and outside. She looked around, she didn't know where she was. She picked the direction facing away from the sun and walked. She didn't know how far she walked. People were staring, but she didn't care. She wanted food and water, and she would get it.

A police car pulled up and the officer got out. "Isabella Swan?" The officer questioned, completely unsure.

"Bella," Bella answered automatically. She didn't stop though, she needed food.

She heard the man mutter something into his radio, but she didn't care. She just kept on walking. He approached her again.

"Bella, would you like to come with me?" The officer asked trying not to startle her.

Bella stopped and looked at him for a second. He wasn't him, no, he was nothing like him. She began walking again.

"Come on kid, I'll get you some food at the station," the officer all but pleaded.

Bella stopped at the mention of food, she really was hungry. She turned around and followed the officer to his car. She didn't take note of her surroundings, she just wanted food. She hoped it was her favorite, coyote meat, but she didn't think it would be. She got out of the car when they pulled up to the station and followed the officer into the building. She was taken to an interrogation room and just dropped off. She sat there alone, not for long though. A woman entered. She wrapped a blanket around Bella. Bella took the warmth from the blanket, but the comfort was completely ignored. The female never left. Not long later the same officer from before placed a hamburger with the works in front of her. As of late she wouldn't have eaten it, but she was too hungry, so she dug right in.

She heard them talking again, but didn't bother to listen in. She was vaguely aware when they tried to engage her in conversation, but she never responded. She thought she heard a familiar voice in the distance a while later though, and she focused on that.

"How can you be sure it's Bella? - She responded to being called Isabella Swan? - Where did you find her? Is she alright? Where is she?"

"Charlie?" Bella questioned softly, her voice rough and weak from lack of use. She got up from her chair and looked out the window. There was a man, short black hair, mustache. She recognized him immediately. "Charlie," she repeated, but this time she was sure. Charlie was looking around frantically, but when his eyes met Bella's his whole demeanor relaxed. Bella looked into his eyes and everything came back to her suddenly.

Living with Renee and Phil in Phoenix. Walking home late from the library to find the front door wide open. Calling out to her mother. Finding her tied to a chair, being tortured by a man. She had tried to get away, but he stopped her. He threatened her with her mother's life, so she went with him. He blindfolded her and took her to, what she guessed, was a basement of sorts. She stayed strong, she defied him, but he was patient. He wore her down eventually. She knew the only way she would be able to survive would be to do as he said. He was stronger than her, smarter. She managed to escape twice, but he always found her. She gave up after a while. She put Bella safely away in the back of her mind and became Isabella. That's what he called her. She did what he said, she was the perfect... she didn't even know what she was to him.

Now that she was free, Bella was coming back and Isabella was being pushed to the back of her mind. She sunk to her knees and cried. Cried for what she had lost, cried for what she had become.

"Oh, it's okay Bella," Charlie said as he kneeled down and held her close. "I'm here baby girl. I'm right here."

"Renee?" Bella sobbed, she needed to know that her mother was safe, that all of the hell she went through was for something, it just had to be.

"She... she didn't make it," Charlie said his voice breaking, holding onto his daughter tighter.

"How long?" Bella pulled away from Charlie and asked him firmly. "How long has it been?"

Charlie didn't want to answer, but he knew that he had to. "Two years," he watched in horror as his daughter heard his answer and understood what that meant. He saw her shut down again and there was nothing he could do.

Two years. Bella couldn't believe it. Two years of her life she would never get back. She all but shut down. Thoughts running rampant in her head. Too fast for her to process anything. She tried to focus on Charlie. He was the only one there for her now. He picked her up and placed her in a chair out of the interrogation room.

"Do we know who did this to her?" Charlie asked the officer.

"We're thinking that it's, umm, James Hunter."

Bella flinched at his name. It was bringing back even more bad memories.

"Is he in custody?" Charlie asked as he put one arm around his daughter to comfort her.

"No," the officer answered, but before Charlie could demand why, he continued. "We identified him by his dental records. About three days ago he was involved in that smash up on the interstate. It seems the tanker rolled right onto his vehicle and burst into flames, it happened so fast he wouldn't have had time to react. He was burnt alive, we only found his teeth."

"Good, well in that case are we free to go?" Charlie asked the officer. "There's nothing left here for Bella and I'd like to take her back to Forks with me."

"Sure, Chief. If James was the only one involved with Bella's abduction then there's nothing we can do anyway, but if you find out anything of importance please let us know."

"Of course," Charlie answered as he stood up and pulled Bella with him. "Come on kid, it's time to go home."

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><p>Jasper's POV<p>

I watched only half interested as my 'girlfriend' Alice's eyes closed. She got glimpses of the future often and I knew to never bet against her.

"Oh, this is good news," Alice said bouncing up and down on my lap.

"What is it?" I asked her, glad no one could read my emotions. I didn't love Alice, well that's not true, I did, but only as a friend, and she knows this.

"Chief Swan is returning," Alice answered me, she seemed overly excited.

"Oh, this is good news," Carlisle, Alice's father, said as he came into the room.

"Why is that exciting Alice?" Edward asked as he followed Carlisle into the room.

Edward secretly loved Alice, and she him, but they were too self centered to figure it out. Plus Alice swore me to secrecy. I don't know why though, surely she can see their future and knows that they will be together. So I was to be tortured in the meantime. Alice was too peppy for my tastes, sure her emotions were refreshing from my own at times, but not all the time, and don't get me started on the shopping trips. I cannot wait for the day when I can pull out my old faded jeans and cowboy boots from the back of the closet again.

"Sooner than you think," Alice whispered to me and that made me smile, maybe I wouldn't be in hell much longer. "Because he is bringing his daughter to live with him," Alice answered Edward's question.

"And I repeat, why is that exciting?" Edward asked. I'm sure he wouldn't even be concerned except that Alice seemed overly excited by her vision.

"One of three reasons," Alice answered.

"They found her then?" Esme asked concerned. "That poor girl. How is she Alice?"

This got me interested. What happened? Esme was genuinely concerned for some girl she didn't even know.

"Yes, Chief Swan found her two weeks ago. She's healthy, physically at least," Alice answered.

"Did they catch the perpetrator?" Carlisle asked equally concerned.

Strange. They were both emitting a paternal love for this girl, Chief Swan's daughter, it was strange.

"Kind of," Alice answered. "He was killed in a car accident, burnt to a crisp."

It always amazed me that Alice knew everything, even if it didn't concern her yet.

"So, why are you so excited?" I asked the question no one else seemed to.

"Because she's going to be my best friend," Alice said wistfully.

Oh I couldn't wait to see this. A vampire with a human friend, that's Alice for you. It should keep me entertained for a bit. Truthfully though I was just waiting for Alice to make her move so that I could split, find Peter and Charlotte, maybe just go out on my own. Maybe this is why Alice hasn't made her move, I know she's fond of me, she knows I plan to leave the family. I heard Edward had stopped playing, so he was probably in someone's head. _Get out of my head Edward, my thoughts don't concern you._ Less than a second later he began playing again. Damn mind reader, it's so annoying.

"Interesting, so is your new friend going to be at school tomorrow?" I asked Alice, she was still bouncing up and down.

"Yep, Jazz. Tomorrow's going to be a good day. Oh, speaking of tomorrow Edward needs to go hunting, I mean we should go hunting."

"Have fun love, I'll sit this one out."

"Okay, come on Edward," I could hear him groan from upstairs, but he could never deny the little pixie anything.

I listened to them run into the woods. This would be good, time alone, with my own thoughts. It didn't last long though I could hear Esme asking Carlisle about Chief Swan's daughter.

"What's the deal with her anyway?" I asked them. I really wanted to know more about this girl, her story intrigued me, and with her being Alice's best friend and Carlisle and Esme already liking her, well why not find out more.

"She was kidnapped two years ago, from her home in Phoenix," Carlisle explained. "As soon as Chief Swan found out he went down there to look for her. Her mother Renee was tortured and killed, but Isabella was missing. He never stopped looking for her, he would come back here every now and then, but he spent most of his time in Phoenix. I guess they got a break in the case and he got Isabella back."

"Hmm, not your everyday home-sweet-home story," I mused out loud. I wondered how Bella would be at school tomorrow, surely someone couldn't bounce back from something like that.

Carlisle and Esme left the room and I was left with my thoughts. I thought of everything and I thought of nothing. All whilst doing my favorite thing, sleeping, well the closest a vampire can get. I shut off my thoughts, send myself a shitload of calm and tiredness, and then I just relax, or sleep as I call it. Then I dream, of anything and everything. It's my favorite thing in the world to do and they all know not to disturb me. Everyone except Alice that is.

"Come on Jazz," Alice said effectively 'waking' me up. "Get ready, it's time for school."

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><p><strong>AN- **Review and tell me what you thought


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- **Same deal here, I own nothing. Thanks to those of you who reviewed, much appreciated.

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><p>Jasper's POV<p>

The school day was dragging, like usual. I didn't like going back to school, it seemed pointless to me. Why do we need to relearn everything, and more importantly why do we subject ourselves to temptation. Human blood, you could smell it everywhere, and being in an enclosed space like a classroom made it worse. Pair that with super vampire senses and I was in hell. History, my favorite class by any means, but all I could focus on was the fifteen odd students sitting around me. I sat at the back, and to the right side, close to the door. I was as far away as I was allowed, but that didn't seem to help.

One look at the girl next to me and I could see her veins clear as day. See them throb with blood in time with her heartbeat. I close my eyes and it just heightens my other senses. I can hear her heart beating strongly, pumping the blood around her body. I can smell her scent, but it is completely overpowered by the scent of her blood. Thinking about my senses leads me to the two left out. Touch and taste. I can imagine holding her lithe body in my arms, cradling her to my chest, supporting her weight. Feeling her chest fall and rise with each breath. I'd lick her neck, taste her, before I broke her skin. One drop of blood, it's all it takes. One drop of the red velvety liquid and I'd be in heaven. The beast in me would take over and I wouldn't care. I'd savor the taste as the warm liquid ran down my throat. Human blood, it was the only thing that could quench our thirst fully, animal blood was just a bad substitute.

I was interrupted out of my thoughts by my phone vibrating in my pocket. I sighed as I tore my eyes away from the poor innocent girl next to me and pulled out my phone. Two new text messages, Edward and Alice, of course. I opened Edward's first- _I can hear your thoughts from here Jasper, don't screw this up for our family_. Of course, I opened up Alice's next- _Jazz lunch is next, I hope you're excited. Oh and I knew you wouldn't drain that poor innocent girl_. Predictable, the two of them. Neither trusted me. No one did fully, I could feel their emotions after all. The truth of the matter though, is if I wanted to kill her then she would already be dead and no one would have been able to stop me. No one except Peter and Charlotte know what I'm fully capable of doing and no one will either.

I didn't bother replying, there was no point. I just sat and waited for the bell to ring. I knew I could spend the rest of my time imagining all the ways I could kill the girl without anyone noticing, but I didn't really need Edward or Alice barging into the classroom unannounced. Five minutes wasted if you ask me. What my family don't seem to understand is that you can have thoughts without acting on them. They are like dreams, you dream of the unattainable because you'd rather dream about it then to never experience it at all, but they just don't seem to understand that. Two seconds until the bell rings, too early for me to leave. One second in vampire time has got to be at least a minute in normal time, too long. One second until the bell rings, close enough. I gather my books and stand just as the bell rings. I am out of the classroom before the humans even have time to react.

Lunch, the best time of the day for humans according to their emotions, hell for us. I don't know why my family sits in the cafeteria and pretends to eat and be normal, they aren't fooling anyone. We'd be better off staying outside, or ultimately telling the other students that we go home for lunch. One hour, we sit, we push food around our trays, we hardly talk to each other or make eye contact. Once again an hour wasted. If I was human the phrase I would constantly use would be- fuck my life. Yep that pretty much summed it up. At least I had something to look forward to today, Bella Swan, Chief Swan's daughter, Alice's new best friend, Esme and Carlisle's adopted daughter for lack of a better word. Although she was only Chief Swan's daughter so far, I doubt that the others were far off.

I passed by my locker and threw my books in, then made my way to the cafeteria. I went straight for the food line, Edward protocol, get the food, sit down, pretend to eat, don't attract the attention of others. All that amounted to was boredom, but I followed it because of Alice. Alice was my 'mate' and I was so 'in love' with her that I did what she wanted. One day I'd be free and I would savior my freedom, one day. I blindly chose my food and made my way over to our table, the others were already there. Edward glared at me straight away and Alice grabbed my hand in attempt to comfort me, or maybe ready to hold me back. _I wasn't going to kill her_, I thought directly to Edward and his demeanor softened.

Now back to the task at hand, find Bella Swan. I scanned the room discretely, but she was nowhere. I did a double check even though I knew it was pointless, I never missed anything. No, she wasn't here. I strained my ears and tried to separate the conversations to see if anyone was talking about Bella. It didn't take long before I focused on Mike's table, they were the only ones interested in Bella. I blocked out everything else and listened in.

"She's weird," I heard Jessica speak.

"Jess, you can't say that," Angela replied.

"And why's that?" Jessica asked. Ah, she was always a little dense that girl.

"Because you don't know her," Angela answered.

"Please, she was kidnapped, yes I get that, but why does she have to milk it. I mean all the teachers feel sorry for her and they never call on her," Jessica whined.

"But she's hot," Mike spoke.

"Yeah," Eric agreed.

"Hot?" Jessica questioned them. "How did you even see her face? She has her head down the whole time, hair covering her face."

Asses, I thought. Everyone at that table was below normal intelligence, except Angela. Angela felt sadness for Bella whereas Jessica was just mainly jealous, which I guess stemmed from the boys obvious attraction to her. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't see her come in. It was Angela who alerted me to the fact. I felt a massive wave of sadness come off her before she spoke.

"I'm going to go over and sit with her."

"Why?" Jessica asked offended.

"Because she has no one else," Angela spoke as she stood up with her tray.

"Okay, whatever."

Angela slowly walked across the cafeteria with her tray. I watched her like a hawk, not willing to catch a glimpse of Bella before Angela reached her. Angela must have felt my gaze on her back because her emotions quickly shifted from sadness to fear. She turned around slowly and met my eyes. As soon as she saw that it was me the fear disappeared and the sadness returned. She turned back around and made her way over to Bella. Every step she took was too slow, but I wasn't going to look ahead. I would see Bella through Angela first, it was the best way to keep my emotions in check and not judge anyone before I should.

She finally made it to the table and sat down. When her tray hit the table Bella jumped a little, but never looked up. "Sorry," I heard Angela say before raising her head. I followed her gaze, so slow. I could feel the anticipation building. I caught my first glimpse of her hair. It was long, it was brown, and it covered her face like a curtain. Although her hair was in front of her face I could see her clearly. Thank you vampire eyesight. I could see in between each strand of hair and was shocked and excited by what I saw. She was a beautiful girl, no doubt about that, but her face showed no emotion and her eyes were dead, and it was then that I realized that I couldn't get a read off her. She had no emotions, she was dead to the world, or so it appeared.

I was broken out of my thoughts by a swift hit on my arm.

"What?" I all but growled at the assailant. As soon as I saw it was Alice I calmed down. "Sorry, what were you after Alice?"

"Edward was talking to you," she answered, seemingly unfazed by my anger.

"What were you just thinking about?" Edward asked me and that was definitely a first for him.

_Nothing_, I thought.

"What were you thinking about before?" Edward asks me confused.

_You mean you didn't hear me before when I was watching Bella?_ I questioned and Edward didn't respond. _You are a pompous ass Edward_.

Edward looks at me completely confused and utterly frustrated.

"You didn't hear that?" I asked Edward and he shook his head.

_Sweet_, I thought to myself, _Edward blocker_.

"I heard that," Edward said to me frustrated.

_Strange, he can hear me, than he can't. Hmm, I was thinking about Bella, that's it, and he claims he can't hear me, but now he can. That is completely strange_.

"You're telling me," Edward muttered. "And why did your thoughts drop out in the middle? All I could hear was silence. What were you thinking about?"

_What was I thinking about? Like I'd tell him. Stupid mind reader__. I find a way to stay silent and he wants me to tell him my trick, not a chance in hell_.

"Tell me brother," Edward growled. "I have ways of getting it out of you."

I scoffed_, hello, god of war, does that mean nothing to you?_ Edward cocked his eyebrow at me, challenging me. _Bella, Bella, Bella, Bella, Bella_. Edward was growing agitated. Sucker.

I knew now that I couldn't stare directly at Bella or I'd give my secret away, so I focused on Mike's table again. Vampires have great peripheral vision and I could see Bella and Angela clearly without raising suspicion. They were in much the same position, but now Angela was eating. They were both silent, but it looked as though Bella was enjoying the company. I still couldn't get a read off her emotions, but her posture had relaxed ever so slightly, a human would never be able to tell, but I could. She had sunk back into her chair about an inch and her shoulders had slumped down too. She wasn't as rigid and on edge as she was before.

You would think not being able to read someone's emotions would tick me off, but it didn't. It intrigued me actually. I was trying to come up with a million different ways to get Bella to feel something again, anything. No one should go through life emotionless, where would be the fun in that? So I made it my personal mission to discreetly make Bella feel any kind of emotion by the end of the week. Discreetly meaning that none of my family would know what I was up to. And I didn't care what kind of emotion I would get off her, happiness, sadness, fear, they're all the same in that they are better than no emotions at all. I began to formulate a plan in my head, using my military planning and tactics, ah how I've missed these old skills. It looks like this mundane school year just turned out to be a lot more interesting on my part.

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><p><strong>AN- **Don't forget to review, the next chapter is all ready to post, so review


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- **I don't own nothing. Thanks again to all those who reviewed, much apprecaited.

Oh this will be Jasper and Bella romance/pairing if you haven't figured that out yet :)

Plus it will most likely stay in Jasper's pov as he's more fun to write.

Enjoy

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><p>Jasper's POV<p>

I worked on my plan for the rest of the school day. I had to be careful, I had to be tactful. I was trying to help Bella's progress, not make her worse. So everything had to be planned out carefully. I had to assess every outcome before I went ahead with my plan. I was not going to screw this up. I wrote it up in my head, paper was too risky, someone might find it, but mentally I was safe. _Operation make Bella feel alive again_. _Stage one: get her to smile. Tactics: first a subtle act of kindness to try and restore her faith in mankind._ That had me thinking, really thinking, which I loved. It had been too long since I had something tactical and important to think about. I was happy, genuinely happy, but back to the task at hand.

What did I know about Bella? Hmm, nothing much. Chief Swan's daughter, lived in Phoenix, mother died, she was kidnapped, kidnapper was killed, moved to Forks. Well that amounted to not much. I never backed down from a challenge though. The only thing out of the information I held that was remotely useful was Phoenix. Surely she missed her old home. Forks was completely different from Phoenix, surely she missed the sun and heat, I know I did. Texas will always be my home, I loved just laying down in a field, hat covering my face as I soaked up the sun. I did it both as a boy and as a vampire, it was soothing. So maybe Bella missed it too. But would it bring up bad memoires, she was kidnapped in Phoenix, maybe it would remind her of the bad things and not the good things.

I decided to stick with my first thought, my gut. My first instinct was always the right one. So Phoenix it was, something to remind Bella of the sun and heat. There were so many possibilities, but all I could think of were stupid things like somehow stealing the sun and giving it to her. It reminded me of those cheesy films where the guy tried to give the girl the moon, but like the moon, I knew that the sun was unattainable. Back to the drawing board, and then it suddenly came to me. It was perfect and it would be all me. You couldn't tear the smile off my face, I had an idea, and it was perfect. I couldn't wait to get started on it.

The bell rang to end another school day, finally. I quickly made my way outside. You know how you feel when you get a good idea in your head and you just can't wait to start work on it, well that's how I feel right now. Nothing, not even Edward brooding at his Volvo would get me down.

"What are you smiling at you idiot?" Edward asked me playfully.

_Nothing_, I responded mentally, as my grin widened.

"Maybe he's just excited because Emmett and Rose come home today," Alice answered as she approached the car. Emmett and Rose were on their fifth honeymoon and decided to prolong it a few days, effectively missing the start of school.

"No, that's not it," Edward said shaking his head. "Let's go, I've got to talk to Carlisle."

We all piled into Edwards Volvo and headed towards home. I jumped out of the car as soon as we hit our driveway. I knew that I could run faster than Edward drives. I made it into the house seconds later and ran up the stairs.

"Alice what has you so excited?" Esme asked and I froze on the stairs. "Jasper?" She questioned. She was confused, curious, and a little embarrassed that she called me Alice. "Why are you so happy?"

"No reason," I answered as I made my way up the stairs again. "I'm going to Seattle tonight to get some supplies," I yelled behind me.

I ran into mine and Alice's shared room and grabbed out my favorite jeans and cowboy boots. A special occasion deserved a special outfit. I let out a small laugh, I guess Alice was right, I would be wearing my favorite clothes sooner than I thought. That was Alice for you, never bet against her, you'll always lose. I got changed quickly, as I listened to my family.

"What is going on with Jasper?" Esme asked Alice and Edward as they came inside. "He's happy. What happened at school today?"

"Nothing," Alice answered knowingly, of course she would know, but I was glad that she was keeping it to herself for now. I don't think my family would react well to me playing with my food, so to speak.

"Nothing?" Edward said frustrated. "Jasper somehow found a way to block my thoughts, and then I go to biology and the new girl, Chief Swan's daughter, is my singer and it took all my restraint not to kill her."

I let out a laugh as I ran down the stairs, pulling on my leather jacket as I went.

"What are you up to?" Esme asked excited. I had no doubt that I was projecting.

"Nothing Mom," I said as I kissed her on the cheek on my way past. She was emitting pride and I knew it was because I never called her mom, maybe I'd have to start.

"Okay, just make sure you're back before your father, Rose and Emmett get home," Esme called after me.

"I'll be back before you know it," I responded as I entered the garage and pulled the cover off my Ducati. I ran my hand lovingly across my bike, before jumping on and kick starting it to life. I revved the engine a few times and then let it run at a nice soft purr. Oh how I loved this bike. I kicked it into gear and pulled out of the garage. As soon as I was on the highway I pushed the throttle to the max. I had to hurry if I wanted to get to Seattle and back in time. I thought about my plan as I rode and made a list of all the supplies that I would need. I pulled up to the first decent art supplies store I saw and went inside.

I walked straight over to the paints and grabbed all the colors that I needed. I picked up a few brushes as well and made my way to the counter. I paid the guy and got him to put it all into a bag. I left the store and rode back home. I pulled into the garage and made my way inside. I was immediately assaulted by Alice.

"What did you buy?" She asked as she snatched the bag off me. I figured she already knew, but her next comment gave me doubts. "Ooh paints, what are you painting?"

"Like you don't know," I replied playfully as I grabbed the bag back off her.

"I don't," she answered and I figured she'd be upset about this, but she appeared to be her usual self.

"You can't see what he's planning to do with... these paints?" Edward asked confused as he looked into my bag.

"Nope, actually I haven't had a vision of Jasper since before lunch," Alice answered.

"What are you doing to us?" Edward asked his frustration returning.

"Me, nothing?" I answer honestly. "Now if you don't mind I'll be in the library until the others come home."

I made my into the library, well technically it was a library, but everyone knew that it was my study of sorts. No one ever came in here but me. It was full of books, a fair few of them were about the civil war, but most weren't. I enjoyed the classics most, because they reminded me of all the era's I had lived through. I had only just got into the library and put down my bag of art supplies when Carlisle called a family meeting. I grudgingly went down the stairs, I really wanted to get started on my 'project'.

Everyone was gathered in the living room and I took my place next to Alice. "What's going on?" I asked Carlisle.

"Well we have a few things to discuss," Carlisle said seriously and it scared me a little, he was only ever this serious if something bad was up. I really didn't want to move again, not when I finally found something to make my life more exciting. "Chief Swan's daughter," Carlisle added and I immediately thought that he knew what I was planning. I was about to defend myself when he continued. "According to Edward she is his singer."

I subconsciously made a sigh of relief. This wasn't about me, it was about Edward.

"I had a lot of trouble trying not to drain her today," Edward said guilt ridden. "Her blood just smells so good. I even tried to change out of biology, but I couldn't. I don't know what to do Carlisle."

"Maybe we should move," Esme suggested.

I was about to object, but Alice grabbed my hand to stop me, then Edward spoke.

"No, I don't think we need to go that far. I can control myself around her, I think," Edward said trying to convince himself.

"I don't want you to make a choice that you will regret later son," Carlisle said. "Maybe we should move."

"Why are we moving?" Emmett asked as he and Rosalie came into the house.

"Because Edward's a pussy and can't handle being around his singer," I blurted out without thinking.

"Dude, I'm with Eddie on this one. I couldn't control myself around my singer, it's tough," Emmett said as he put his hand on Edward's shoulder in sympathy.

Rosalie smiled at me and sat down next to me, we were close. Decades of being twins really seemed to rub off on us.

"I think it was better when I couldn't hear your thoughts Jasper," Edward said to me. "Now you're just broadcasting them for everyone to hear."

I just smiled widely at him.

"What's going on?" Rosalie whispered to me, too quiet for anyone else to hear. "What's got you smiling like a fool?"

"Not much," I replied just as quiet. "Just had a good day."

"Well you better tell me later Jazz, I want to know all the details."

"He's blocking me on purpose," Edward whined to Carlisle. "And he won't tell me how. I think he's blocking Alice as well."

"Jasper is this true?" Carlisle asked me.

"Sure," I replied. "But I don't know how I'm doing it."

"He's lying," Edward accused.

"How are you doing it little brother?" Rosalie asked me with interest.

"I'll tell you later," I whispered to her, so that only she could hear. "I'm not doing anything, I swear," I said so everyone else could hear. It was the truth I wasn't doing anything, it was all Bella. Ah Bella, a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.

"Excuse us," Rosalie told our family as she grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of the room. "What is going on Jasper?"

"I met someone," I answered quietly so that the others couldn't hear me.

"A vampire?" Rosalie questioned. "Is there one in the area? Did you go out of town?"

"No, they're human," I answered and Rosalie's face immediately changed. "It's not like that," I said quickly and she eyed me suspiciously. "Okay, maybe it's a little like that, but you don't understand."

"Well, make me," Rosalie said.

She was giving me one chance. She didn't like us interacting with humans, she thought it was wrong. So I wasn't going to waste this chance she had given me.

"She has no emotions," I said excitedly. "I can get a better read off her eyes then I can off her feelings." She still wasn't convinced. "Plus she's the reason Edward can't hear my thoughts."

"A human?" Rosalie questioned confused. "Is she a shield?"

"Maybe, possibly, I don't know."

"Show me?"

"What?" I asked her confused.

"Show me her," Rosalie repeated. "If she can block our thoughts from Edward then I want to see her."

"Okay, let me just grab something," I ran up the stairs and grabbed the art supplies. I was back at Rosalie's side in seconds. "Okay, let's go."

"What's in the bag?" Rosalie asked suspiciously.

"Paint," I answered. "Up for a little vandalism?" Rosalie's eyes brightened at the thought.

"But we see the human first."

"Of course," I said heading back into the family room. "We'll be back shortly," I told them.

"Where are you going?" Emmett asked feeling left out.

"Nowhere," Rosalie answered.

"Don't you two go getting into any trouble," Carlisle said eyeing the bag of paints suspiciously. "I don't want Chief Swan knocking on our door."

"Us? Never," Rosalie answered. "Come on Jasper."

"We'll be back soon," I told them. "Just got to show Rose something important."

"Don't worry I'll keep the others occupied until you come back," Alice said sweetly. Maybe she did know what was going on? Maybe she was still getting visions of me, maybe she just didn't want Edward to feel left out. Ah, not important, either way she was keeping quiet.

"Thanks sweetheart," I blew her a kiss and then I was out the door, Rose hot on my heels. I ran straight to the school hoping to pick up on her scent. If she was Edward's singer then she would smell sweet to us as well. Rose looked at me confused when she saw me stop at the school. We weren't there long before I picked up Bella's scent and took off again. It wasn't long before we were out the front of Chief Swan's two story house. I sensed her upstairs, so I didn't hesitate to climb the tree to get closer to her.

"Is that her?" Rose asked as she joined me in the tree.

"Yes," I answered. Bella was already asleep even though it was still early.

"What happened to her?" Rose asked. She could tell when someone was abused, maybe because she was, or maybe that was her gift.

"She was kidnapped and held hostage for two years," I answered sadly as I watched Bella. "Chief Swan only found her and brought her home a couple of weeks ago."

"What happened to her abductor?"

"He was killed according to Alice, in a fiery wreck. The police found Bella wandering the streets."

"No one should have to go through that, if her abductor was still alive then he wouldn't be when I got through with him."

"I hear you sister."

"Now what's with the paints?" She asked me.

"Well I've decided that it's my job to make Bella feel again, something, anything really."

"And you're going to do that with paints?"

"Yep," I replied handing Rose the bag and then jumping across to Bella's window, which was partly open. I opened it right up and slid in. Charlie was still at the station it appeared. I motioned for Rose to follow. She threw me the bag and then jumped through the window.

"So, what are we doing?" Rose asked me confused.

"Phase one," I told her. "I'm going to remind Bella of home." I got out the paints. "You watch her, make sure she doesn't wake up."

"Fine."

I quickly unscrewed the lids off the paint and grabbed the brushes. This wouldn't take long at all, thank you vampire speed. I got to work quickly, but accurately. If I was human I would be sweating now. It didn't take long, half an hour at the most. I was probably covered in paint. Rose just watched me in awe the whole time, I guess she didn't know that I knew how to paint. I finished off the last couple of strokes and stood back to survey my work.

"It's beautiful," Rose spoke.

It did look pretty good. On two of Bella's walls I had drawn a southern landscape. There was a big sun shining down low close to sunset, cacti, tumble weed, rocks, all casting shadows, it was just so bright. Surely Bella would love it. I loved it. It reminded me of my home instantly.

"She's stirring," Rose informed me. "Let's go."

"One second," I said grabbing a brush and the black paint. I signed the wall near the bottom. J.R. Whitlock. "Okay done."

I grabbed up the supplies and followed Rose out the window. We heard Bella settle back down. I jumped back up and closed her window back to how she had it.

"We'll come by in the morning to see her reaction," I told Rosalie, she agreed and we headed home.

I was happy with the first stage, it went perfectly, and hopefully Bella would love it.

"Hey what does the 'R' stand for?" Rose asked me close to home.

"What?" I asked faking confusion.

"Your name, Jasper 'R' Whitlock," Rose explained. "What's the 'R' stand for?"

"Rye," I answered embarrassed.

"Ry?" Rose questioned. I didn't want to correct her and tell her it was rye like the grass, or the whiskey that was made from its grains, though it did mean gentleman in gypsy dialect, so I guess it wasn't all bad. "Jasper Ry Whitlock," she said trying it on for size.

"Yep that's me, Jasper Rye Whitlock," I sighed. "Breathe a word of that to anyone and I'll rip you to pieces," I replied jokingly.

"Okay, okay," she relented as we made it through the front door.

"Good you're home," Esme said relieved. "Carlisle was about to send the cavalry." Then she started giggling. "Jasper you're completely covered in paint." Soon Edward, Alice, Emmett and Carlisle came to see what was going on and they all joined in on the laughter.

My smile grew wide as I replied, "totally worth it." I just couldn't wait until tomorrow to see Bella's reaction.

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><p><strong>AN- **You read it, now review it.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing everyone, I enjoyed each and every one of them :)

I don't own Twilight, sadly. I would have killed Edward, probably.

Enjoy

* * *

><p>"She's waking up," I told Rosalie even though she was fully aware.<p>

We were in the forest, up a tree. We had a perfect view of Bella and Bella's bedroom, but we were too far out for a human to see us. We had been waiting for a while, just waiting for Bella to wake up. I wasn't hoping for much when Bella saw my mural, a smile, maybe a short flash of some kind of emotion, any kind of emotion.

Bella had finally woken up enough that she had sat up in bed and proceeded to rub her eyes. I could feel the excitement and anticipation coming off Rose and it was beginning to affect me. It seemed like a lifetime before Bella saw the mural and I froze. I observed her actions and emotions closely. I got nothing. Her face was blank, her emotions were also blank. I sighed in frustration. I was sure I'd get some kind of response, but nothing at all, it was trying.

"At least she's looking at it," Rosalie said, and I was glad that Bella didn't just see it and look away, or not even see it at all, but then again she was just staring at it blankly. "You coming?" Rose asked as she jumped out of the tree and landed safely on the ground.

"No, I'll stay here," I frowned still focusing on Bella, at least she was still looking at the mural, it was a start, and it seemed like she didn't have an adverse reaction to a reminder of her home.

I heard Rosalie open her mouth to speak, but she closed it just as quick. "I'll see you at school then." I heard her run off towards the house but my gaze never left Bella.

I suddenly wanted to see how she acted around her dad, Chief Swan. See how he acted around her. I didn't have to wait long before I heard a knock at Bella's door, she finally pulled her gaze away from my painting to face her dad.

"Hey Bells," came his carefully planned out greeting. She didn't respond but I saw her head incline and then drop showing him that she heard him. "Do you," he faltered, "do you mind making some breakfast this morning? Pancakes?"

I didn't like how he asked her that, how could he. She was barely holding herself together and yet here he was making cooking demands from her. She nodded her head slightly again and Chief Swan let out a breath.

"Okay, then, I'll, umm, see you downstairs," I saw him glance at my mural and frown momentarily before shaking his head.

He left the room and Bella began to get ready. I closed my eyes and focused in on Chief Swan's emotions. Wanting to understand him better. Wanting to work out how he was dealing with all this. Plus I wanted to give Bella some privacy. Chief Swan's emotions were pretty standard for the situation he was in. He was miserable, in total despair, with even more helplessness piled on top of all that, and just by looking at him I could tell that it all was taking a toll on him.

I had to remind myself that this had been a long two years for Chief Swan as well. Firstly he had to find out that his daughter was kidnapped, then immediately on top of that was that his first wife, the mother of his child, had been murdered by his daughters kidnapper. Then he would have no doubt been led on a rollercoaster of ups and downs for two years. Hope for when new leads came in about her disappearance, followed by despair when the leads turned out to be nothing. Then finally to be reunited with Bella, the relief he must have felt to have her back safely in his arms again, but no. She was now damaged beyond repair, well hopefully not if I have anything to say about it. Chief Swan had to sit by and watch how unattached his daughter had become. He would have spent two years thinking that when he finally found her, that everything would be right, that they would be fine, and that they'd be able to move on with their lives, but no.

I heard Bella descend the stairs so I slid down from the tree and landed softly on the ground. I made a wide path around their house, sticking to the shadows of the forest, as I made my way around to the side of the house where the kitchen was located. I made sure I was covered by the brush, then I looked into the kitchen, looked at Bella. The first thing I realized is that I prematurely underestimated Chief Swan's actions and I felt bad for that. He wasn't forcing Bella, he wasn't using her for his own gain, no. Bella must enjoy cooking. A human couldn't tell, well maybe Charlie could, but Bella had relaxed slightly. She wasn't as stiff, wasn't as careful. She had an odd sense of freeness about her, like she was able to forget everything for just a minute.

I believed that I had gained as much information as I needed for now. I was no longer annoyed by her lack of response to my painting, no, I was oddly hopeful. I had to remember that Bella had only been free for two weeks. Two weeks compared to two years of whatever torture she went through was nothing. I had to be patient, but a patient man I was not. I left her house and ran off towards the Cullen's. I had to get back and get ready for another day at school. Ah, the always dreaded school day. I loved that I found myself smiling, smiling about something I clearly hated with a passion.

It somewhat unnerved me that a human girl could affect me so much. For a human girl to give me a sense of purpose that I hadn't found since my time with Maria. For her to make me enjoy the tasks I had grown to despise just because she was there. Just because I wanted her to get back to where she was before she was kidnapped. I wanted her to be able to feel again. To not go through life numb, without hope. Ha, oh that made me laugh. We really were two peas in a pod. I had began going through life, just going through the motions, not caring, just existing. Existing to please the Cullen's and their strive for normalcy. Existing to keep up with their diet because that's what was expected. Existing to stay with Alice because she said it wasn't time yet. Time, I didn't know what we were waiting for, but I trusted and valued her opinion highly on the matter. And now, now I had a purpose. Thanks to Bella.

"Jasper," Esme beamed at me as I came through the door. "Rose told us that you might be unhappy when you returned."

"Quite the opposite," I replied as I smiled back at her.

"What has gotten into you?" She asked me for the second time, it seemed as though she was feeding off my happiness but I knew I wasn't projecting.

"Life has finally given me some lemons," I told her proudly and her smile grew even wider. "So I'm gonna try my best to make some lemonade."

"Well I'm not going to ask, I'll wait until you want to share with me," Esme, ever thoughtful, "but feel how happy I am for you my son."

I focused on her solely and I could feel her unconditional love for me, her happiness, and her pride.

"Thank you," I said as I pulled her into a hug.

"Where were you this morning?" Edward asked from behind me.

"Read my mind and see," I knew I'd have him, I loved my Bella blocker. "I give you permission, not that you've ever needed it before."

I saw him focus and become more frustrated by the minute. Oh, I didn't even think of Bella being an Edward blocker when I was realizing all the reasons she was a welcome change, but it is definitely something I enjoyed. Not having Edward in my head when my thoughts were strictly about Bella was probably the best thing to come out of all this. I'd have to make sure I asked Alice whether she could see my future still or not.

I decided to break him out of his frustration before he burst something trying to read my thoughts, okay, so he heard that. I let out a small laugh.

"So, what are you doing about your singer?" I asked him , genuinely curious. If he killed Bella, well it would definitely put a downer on my new outlook on life.

"I'm leaving for a while," he sighed, "Alaska. I need to get my thoughts in order over all this."

"Good," I replied without thinking, he looked at me confused. "You know Alice," yes, always default to Alice, it worked every time, "well she'd hate it if you were to kill her new best friend."

He frowned, "Yes, I didn't think of it like that."

"Jasper," came Alice's sing-song voice.

"Yes, love?" She smiled at me wistfully as she came down the stairs but it was quickly replaced with a completely genuine smile.

"I need to talk with you," she was putting off a whole lot of happiness, "I'll ride to school with you."

"The Ducati?" I asked her knowing her answer would be no, but wanting to ask anyway. She hated my bike, thought it was a deathtrap which made no sense at all because we were literally indestructible. I think she was more worried about windblown hair and dirt flying up from the ground ruining her outfit. Okay, so maybe she had reason to deny me all this time. So, I was shocked when she answered.

"Sure, get it ready and I'll meet you out there."

I was so tempted to ask her if she was sure, but I wasn't going to give her a chance to changed her mind. I knew she wanted to say goodbye to Edward as well. So I ran upstairs and grabbed my leather jacket. I was still wearing my well worn jeans and cowboy boots from yesterday. I was more comfortable then I had been in years. I was still wearing a button down dress shirt, and I couldn't wait until I could finish off my outfit with a nice vintage band tee. Ah, it will be a good day when that happens. I made my way into the garage, got the bike lined up for an easy get-away, for Alice's sake, and waited for her to join me.

She joined me and I could feel a sadness coming off her, from Edward's decision to leave, I assume. I helped her onto the back of my bike safely, something told me this would be the only chance I got with Alice on the back of my bike. Once she was situated I kick started the bike and let it run at a nice purr. I could feel a spike of fear from her and she wrapped her arms around me tightly. I suppressed a small chuckle. I took off. I desperately wanted to ask Alice what she wanted to talk about but I held my tongue and waited for her to speak. We were halfway to school when she spoke.

"It's time," is all she said and I could feel the sadness rolling off her in waves. I was confused as to what she meant, she must have seen this, and she elaborated. "We don't have to pretend anymore Jasper, it's time."

"Really?" I asked her as in disbelief as I swerved the bike a little. "Sorry," I apologized as I felt her fear spike enough to affect me greatly and her grip on me began to sting. I definitely wouldn't be taking her out on my bike again, for my own safety. "You're sure?" I asked her.

I had been waiting for this day for a long time. A day when I could split from Alice officially. I wondered what changed for her and then it hit me. She didn't change, I did. I was now free. I had dreamed of this day for a long time and the first thing I was always going to do was run, but now, with Bella, well I wasn't running, not yet. I needed to know how Bella was going to react to my actions. I couldn't, no I wouldn't, leave her until she was back to feeling normal emotions again. I couldn't. I was committed to this more than I realized. Alice knew though. I knew that she wanted me to stay here, she never wanted me to leave, she just had to wait for the right opportunity to let me go. A time where I wouldn't run, and she found it. I was so happy.

When I first met Alice in that diner in Philadelphia I felt hope. I now had a way to survive where I didn't have to feel the emotions of my victims. A life I could lead with no guilt. She let me know the deal straightaway. She wasn't sure if we were mated or not. She never pushed it. We found early on that we weren't destined to be together, but by then we were with the Cullen's and we were openly dating. I wanted to come out with the truth, especially after seeing Alice developing feelings towards Edward, but she told me that it wasn't time. That I'd have to sit idly by until she gave me the go ahead. I wasn't thrilled with this, but I dealt. I trusted Alice and her visions. All I had to do was show my brotherly affection to her in front of the Cullen's. Hold her hand, give her a kiss on the cheek, give her flowers, just basically be a sappy bastard. It was fun though. I quite enjoyed making her feel good. These little acts would make her emotions so positive, it was like a welcome drug at times.

I was actually thankful that we had put it off for so long. If she had let me go any earlier I would have bolted and never looked back. But now, with Bella. I don't know what it's is about her, maybe it's just the challenge of someone so damaged. A chance to do something worthwhile that's drawn me in, but either way I was thankful that I had waited for Alice. I sent her everything I was feeling right now, my happiness, but more importantly my thanks. She knew how I felt, she always did. I felt her death grip finally lessen and her grip turned into a nice embrace.

I pulled up to the school and helped Alice off the back of the bike. I gave her a proper hug, noting that this might be the last one for a while. I knew I'd still hug her, hold her hand when she needed support, give her my kind words when she needed them, all that. She was a big part of my life for so long and I wasn't going to turn my back on her. I'd even help her get Edward if that's what she ultimately wanted. She must have seen my decision to help her as she pulled back and told me, thank you.

"No problem," I replied. I couldn't keep the smile off my face. I was finally free. Finally free to do what I wanted, what I pleased. No longer having to worry about keeping face in front of the Cullen's, no. I was a free man once again and I loved the feeling.

"Well, don't feel sad about our relationship's demise," Alice smiled at me.

She knew how I felt, she always did. We were completely open with each other.

"We're just transitioning Alice, nothing's ending."

"I know," Alice said tapping her head knowingly.

"Speaking of the future," now seemed like a good a time as any to ask. "Can you see visions of me, of me and Bella?" I asked her. I don't think it matter either way. She knew to respect my privacy, so I didn't care how she answered.

"Some," she smiled at me. "I see more of the bigger picture, how things will end up, then the little things in the immediate future."

"Don't tell me, okay?"

Alice didn't always share her visions with me, unless I asked, or it was something that I needed to know, but I was enjoying being in the dark, making my own decisions, my own mistakes, it was a freeing feeling.

"Of course," I hugged Alice again and kissed her temple.

The warning bell for class rang and I let go of Alice. We made our way inside the halls of Forks High and I immediately looked for Bella. I saw her at her locker, head down, still emotionless. I had a sudden thought. An idea to see if Bella was able to feel anything at all. A plan started forming in my head. It may not be the best plan, it may not be thought out, but in the moment I didn't care. I wanted to see how Bella would react. I looked down at Alice and she had a sad smile on her face. I could tell that she didn't think it was the best idea, but she stayed quiet. I knew this probably wouldn't go well, but it was a mistake I was willing to make.

Bella moved from her locker and made her way towards me. Alice squeezed my hand briefly before leaving me by myself. Her small way of telling me that she might not agree with what I was about to do, but she wasn't going to stop me either. I saw Bella as my target. I walked forward, we got closer and closer. She had her head down, focused on the floor. I went slightly wide so she wouldn't catch sight of my cowboy boots, a dead giveaway if she would see them later on. No, I needed to be unknown for this to work. She became in reaching distance, I steeled myself, and as she passed I used my vampire speed to grab a hold of her wrist. I grabbed it firmly, not letting go until I knew I had to. It seemed like a lifetime for me, yet it was a fleeting moment for Bella, but oh did she feel that.

Oh yeah, I was in trouble for sure.

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><p><strong>AN- **Slight cliffhanger for you there, review and I'll attempt to update tomorrow. I've been sick though, but reviews are medicine in a way... just review, you know you want to


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing everyone, I really do appreciate them all :)

I really enjoyed writing this chapter guys, it got me thinking a lot. I'll explain more below.

I still don't own Twilight and that's not likely to change, so this may be my last disclaimer for this story.

Enjoy

* * *

><p>Oh yes, Bella did indeed feel that. I felt a spike of fear come from her, that and something else. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on, it was a mix of emotions. A mix I had never encountered before. I catalogued it, made sure I remembered it precisely. I'd have to figure out what it was. See people just don't feel clear cut emotions. Sure it's easy to catalogue someone as sad, but they're never just sad. They may be sad and angry, sad and happy, all emotions blended together. It made it hard at times to work out what they were. People were always feeling things that I had never felt before, and that's what Bella just did. I was trying to focus on it, trying to work it out, but I just couldn't. I was too happy in the moment. Bella finally felt something. I was so glad that she was open to feelings. That she wasn't shut off completely.<p>

I looked ahead into the glass cabinet at the end of the hallway. I saw Bella turn around slightly, not enough to look behind her, but she clearly was affected by my actions. I kept looking forward. I didn't want to turn around and have her meet my eyes, but this wasn't the problem. Bella was seemingly fine with her outburst of emotions, she wasn't breaking down, no, she was closing up again, if anything. No, the problem was Rosalie. I heard her hiss angrily and I caught her gaze in the reflection of the glass, her gaze was murderous. She saw the whole scene it seemed and her emotions were screaming at me, she did not agree with my actions at all.

I tore my gaze away from Rose's and made my way to class. I avoided her successfully for the rest of the day, but lunch was just around the corner. I purposely stayed away from Bella too, no need to make Rose even more angry with me. Plus I gained what I wanted from Bella today, no need to push her any further. The bell rang for lunch and I sighed. I couldn't avoid Rose any longer. I wondered why she was pissed at me. I didn't think about it though, I knew she would tell me soon enough.

I made my way to the cafeteria and skipped the lunch line today. Edward wasn't here, so I saw no need to pretend to eat. I looked over at our table and saw Rose already sitting there, food tray in front of her. Yep, she was still pissed. I sat down one seat away from her and met her gaze. She stared back at me. Glaring at me. If looks could kill, well. I decided not to speak. I just held her gaze, waiting for her to speak. Waiting for her to snap, and boy was she close. Her emotions were becoming more and more volatile with every second that passed.

"How could you?" She spoke and I could tell she was trying to keep her anger in check.

"Do what?" I asked her genuinely confused. I knew she was angry at my actions, but I didn't know why.

"She could have relapsed," Rose said, too low for anyone else to hear. "Did you even think of that? You could have set her back. She could have freaked out. You, did you even think it through at all? What did you even gain from it?"

"Look Rose," I sighed, her feelings were justified. "I thought it through, you know I don't do anything without analyzing it first. I had to do it, okay. I wasn't going to spend months on a lost cause. It would have killed me to put all this time and effort into this girl, only to find out at the end of all this that she couldn't feel anything at all. That she had given up completely."

Rose's emotions shifted slightly, less anger, and some curiosity took its place. "And?" She asked me expectantly.

"And she responded," I smiled at Rose. "She felt something, a genuine emotion. Not forced, no faking, the real thing."

"What was it?" Rose asked me and I could feel her concern for the girl.

"Fear, but don't worry. It was a small burst, nothing to worry about."

"You're still a dick for even doing that to her, you know that right?"

"Oh, I know it," and I did. I knew that I could have damaged Bella worse, but I just had to do it. Consequences be damned.

Rose's emotions finally settled down into the emotions I was used to from her. Contentment, boredom, anxiousness, and a small bit of lust. She only ever felt anxious when Emmett was away from her, but as soon as he was in sight it disappeared and was replaced with love. She loved that man more then I could comprehend at times. More than anyone else I had ever encountered. The only other couple that came close was Peter and Charlotte, but they had nothing on Rose and Emmett, no, what they had, well it was special. I could only hope to be half as lucky as them. Rose's lust spiked momentarily and I turned towards the door just in time to see Emmett and Alice enter. I suddenly realized that no one knew of my break up with Alice yet.

"Jasper," Emmett growled protectively as he sat down in between me and Rose.

"It's fine now," Rose told him as she grabbed his hand, "Jasper and I worked it out."

"Good, because I didn't want to have to wipe the floor with you again." I scoffed at Emmett's remark, he had never once beaten me in a fight and he knew it. "I call a rematch too," he told me and I nodded my head. Fighting Emmett was always fun.

"Hey," Alice said as she sat down next to me. I was going to lean over and kiss her on the cheek when I realized that I didn't have to do that anymore. I found that I was slightly saddened by that fact, so I reached across the table and grabbed her hand instead. She smiled sadly at me.

We all fell into a comfortable silence and I began thinking about Bella's unknown emotion, well unknown to me at least. Surely someone would know it and that fact gave me an idea.

"A game," I spoke to the others, in a normal human volume. "$5,000 on the line," this perked them all up. We were all unbelievably rich but we all loved some free money. We bet on everything. "I'll give you an emotion, you identify it correctly and I'll give you $5,000."

"That's it?" Emmett asked me and I smiled at him.

"Yep, that's it. You guys in?"

They all nodded their heads.

"Me first," Emmett said excitedly as he held out his hand.

I wasn't going to give him Bella's emotion, no, I was going to give him something good. I grabbed his forearm in my hand and sent him irritation, coupled with agitation and impatience. He immediately began squirming in his seat. He couldn't sit still at all. I amped it up a little and he was trying desperately to pull out of my grasp. I gave it a few more seconds. He was ready to jump out of his chair and if I wasn't holding onto him he would have. I slowly replaced the emotions with calm. I didn't want him to jump through the wall by suddenly stopping. I finally had replaced everything, even stopping the calm when he had gained control over his emotions again.

"What the hell was that?" Rose asked confused. I could feel her concern for her mate.

"Emmett?" I questioned him. I wondered if he'd be able to guess it correctly or not.

"First off," Emmett began catching his breath, even though he didn't need to, "Never do that again, ever," I smirked at him. "I've felt it before," he said I could tell he was desperately trying to figure it out, "When I was human."

"You're on the right track," I smiled at him. Alice and Rosalie, only having seen the effect it had on Emmett had no idea what he felt, so they couldn't help him out at all. They were just waiting, like me, to see if he would get it or not.

"Is it," he faltered, not trusting his conclusion at all, "was I itchy, you know, when you have an itch but you can't scratch it?"

"Yep," I smiled at him, I was surprised he got it.

"Yes," he said triumphantly as he fist bumped the air.

"Do me?" Alice said as she held out her hand.

I thought quickly. Alice or Rose. Who would be the better person to set Bella's foreign emotion loose on. Rose would be an obvious choice as she had been through a similar situation to Bella's before, but her words from the start of lunch rang in my head. I did not need Rose having a relapse or breaking down because of the emotions I forced on her. So I decided Alice would have to do, I just prayed that she would be able to identify it for me.

I reached out grabbed her hand gently. I focused on Bella's feeling. Remembering it as clearly as I could, and then I slowly seeped the emotion into Alice. I saw her eyes brighten up, with the affection, I assumed. I made sure she got a good dose of it. I saw her eyes become soft, almost melting before my eyes. I tried to keep my demeanor as calm as I could on the outside, I didn't want to alert her to the fact that I didn't know exactly what I was feeding her. Her face didn't change for a few seconds, so I knew she had felt it all. I did the same as I did with Emmett and I pulled it back slowly and replaced it with calm.

"So?" I said after she was back to normal, "Can you guess it?" I was desperately trying to act normal, trying not to draw attention to myself and it seemed to work.

"I've never felt it before," Alice admitted deep in thought, "The best I can do is describe it as, deep affection, not love though, it comes close, but there's something else," she paused. "It's wrong though, I feel, guilty? Like I shouldn't be feeling this kind of affection, but I can't help it... That's the best I've got. Did I get it?"

"Sure," I answered making sure I put all of this information away for later, I needed to focus on the now. I could over analyze everything Alice said later on. "I thought I'd stump you," I lied, trying to detract from me and focusing Alice back onto herself.

"Really?" She questioned me, "You have such little faith in me."

I knew it would work, it always did. It works for almost everyone. You need to distract someone. You need to deflect someone. It's easy, just talk about them. Compliment them. Question them. Insult them. Either way, you just have to distract them and what better way than changing the subject to be about them. No one can resist that. They either fish for compliments, answer you, or defend themselves. It never fails. With Alice thoroughly distracted I smiled at her and moved my attention to Rose.

"So Rose, these two got theirs, you game?" A wave of determination overcame her and she outstretched her arm.

I quickly thought of what I was going to send her. There was one thing I had never seen from Rose. I had seen her laugh, rarely, but she had never really let go. She was probably going to kill me for this, but I didn't care. I grabbed her arm. I started out small with some amusement. I pulled all of her usual emotions from her slowly as I upped the amusement. I made her feel as free as I could. The only emotion I gave her was pure amusement. I slowly upped it. Slow and steady. She was trying to repress it, but every time another emotion entered her mind I pulled it away from her and upped her amusement. She was nearly there, I added a burst of pure happiness and coupled it with humor. The icing on the cake if you will. Rose finally gave up trying to stop it.

She began with a small giggle which she tried to stifle, then they began escaping as I upped the emotions again. In no time at all she was laughing like an idiot. Emmett and Alice looked on in shock, but as soon as the laughter left our table and took over the whole cafeteria, well everyone turned their attention to Rose. They couldn't help it. Rose was always beautiful, but seeing her this free, well it was a new kind of beauty. All of the students were in a kind of awe, disbelief. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. I glance around the cafeteria to find Bella and I was surprised to see her looking at Rose as well. There was no emotions coming from her, but she was just simply observing. I let go of Rose's arm, replacing her emotions quicker then I had the other two and it ended up giving her a lightheaded affect. I tore my eyes from Bella, she was now staring downwards again, and I turned my focus back to Rose.

"Umm," Rose faltered. She was still suffering from the affects of the emotions I gave her, but this was strictly her. I pulled them all from her, but it seemed as though she was remembering them right now. Half of me was waiting for her to snap at me, for her to be angry at me for making her lose face, not only in front of us, but in front of the whole school. "Umm," I had never seen Rose like this before, speechless. I was hopeful though, her emotions were positive so I knew I was probably in the clear. "I can't describe it," she finally spoke. "I want to say amusement but it seems more than that."

"It's giddiness," I told her, smiling at her, "Quite a freeing feeling, isn't it?"

"Yes," she spoke quietly.

"That's how Emmett feels most of the time," I informed her and her emotions shifted. It was good to witness. She wasn't necessarily seeing Emmett in a new light, but she now understood him better. It was as if a little piece of their puzzle fell into place and I was happy that I could help her like that. Her emotional makeup would be changed slightly now. Not by much, just a little bit of understanding, an added dose of respect for her mate, and a hell of a lot of love, as if they needed anymore love between them. It gave me hope. If I could change stone cold Rosalie like this, then surely I could change Bella as well.

The bell rang and we all stood up. The others had to get rid of their food trays, so I took the opportunity to rush off to my next class. I had it alone and I was looking forward to dissecting Alice's response. The room was already open and I took my usual seat at the back, closest to the door. The teacher thankfully was too afraid of me and left me alone instead of attempting to converse with me. I thought about my interaction with Bella first. She had felt fear, and according to Alice, she had felt some deep rooted, although misplaced, affection, but towards who. I decided to focus on the fear first. She was feeling fear. Did she think I was her captor? Did she think he was coming back for her? Maybe she was just scared that she would get kidnapped again.

It was the affection that really threw me though. Something about it hit a chord with me, I just couldn't work it out. Who would she feel affection towards? Her deceased mother? Her dad? No, it just didn't fit. She would feel love for both of them, not merely affection. Alice had said it was close to love, but it felt wrong. It was then, so suddenly, that it hit me. I've felt it before. A long time ago. I repressed everything from my time with Maria. The only person that could completely recall my time with Maria was the Major, and he only ever made an appearance in situations where I needed to be focused, unattached. Times when I just needed to get the job done, no emotions involved.

It all fell into place then. I had felt this same feeling towards Maria. A small part of me feared her, but an even bigger part of me loved her. There was a time where I would do anything to please her, but I knew that it wasn't true love. It was just a substitute. I had to adapt. Loving Maria made things easier all round. Loving Maria kept me alive. So Bella, well she must have felt this towards her abductor. She too, must have realized that to survive she'd have to adapt her feelings to suit the situation, and in the end she felt as though she cared for her abductor. He was there for her when no one else was. She felt as though she should love him for keeping her alive when he could have just killed her, but deep down she knew it was wrong. She knew that she could never love him, it was all an act. Just like me with Maria.

I immediately felt lighter. Finally understanding a bit more about Bella. Being able to match her experience and feelings towards my own from so long ago. Buried so deep I wasn't able to make the connection straightaway. It was good. I pushed it all to the back of my head for now. Satisfied with the information I had gained. I liked that we were alike in a way. We had both suffered imprisonment at the hands of another. I don't know Bella's case, but in mine, well the Major handled everything and I kept him locked up tight nowadays. He never escaped unless needed. It allowed me to move on, to be the boy I was growing up before everything happened. It didn't seem as though Bella was taking this approach, or maybe she was, but she was just struggling with it.

I stretched out my legs in front of me and caught sight of my cowboy boots. Ah, no more Alice. Now that brought a smile to my face. No more wearing preppy clothes, no more neatness, no more politeness. I could just be me. I knew what my first order of business was going to be. It was not going to be pretty, Alice will hate me for it, but it just has to be done. Everyone will know we're separated once I accomplish my task. I had been dreaming of doing this since I knew that Alice and I wouldn't work out. It was a silly dream that kept me going, and now knowing that I'd finally be able to do it. Well now I was the one feeling giddy.

The rest of the school day passed in a blur, thankfully. I couldn't stop thinking about what I was going to do as soon as I got home. I made my way out to my bike and was not surprised to see a scowling Alice in front of it.

"You wouldn't dare?" Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest.

"Oh, I would," I teased her.

"I won't let you," she countered.

"Doesn't matter," I said as I hopped onto my bike and kick started it to life. "Unless you beat me home, it will be too late."

She huffed and I sped off. I made sure to keep to the speed limit in town but as soon as I hit the highway I floored it. I was so focused on beating Alice home that I caught sight of the police cruiser in the distance too late. I began slowing down, but I was still going too fast when I passed it. I quickly thought of speeding off and leaving whoever it was behind in my wake, but I felt Chief Swan's emotional makeup and I slowed down. I could see the flashing lights behind me and hear the siren blaring in my ears. I pulled off to the side of the road and got off my bike. Alice was going to beat me home now and that just wasn't going to work. I changed my mind quickly. I thought it out as much as I could. You could trick Alice if you were wise enough. I don't know if she was going to believe this change of events, but it was my only hope. I put a stop to my plans straightaway and I counteracted them, so that Alice should be none the wiser, hopefully.

Chief Swan approached me. His emotions running at a low hum, all negative, the biggest being defeat. I knew then that I had to help him. I had to ease his burden a little.

"License and registration," he stated blankly and I could tell his heart wasn't in it at all.

I sent him a small dose of anticipation and joy as I handed over the necessary documents and he took the emotions on board.

"Whitlock?" He questioned surprised as he looked up at me, "I thought you were a Hale."

"I am. Esme's my aunt, her maiden name is Hale. Rose and I took on her last name, yet on my birth certificate I'm a Whitlock, born and bred."

"I see. Do you know how fast you were going?" I wasn't sure if this was a rhetorical question or not, but I thought back to the moment I passed the police cruiser and tried to remember the exact reading on the speedometer. I must have taken too long because Chief Swan answered for me, "Too fast."

"Yes, sir," I answered, hanging my head in shame.

"Why were you going so fast?" He asked me.

"I have no excuse, sir, just being a teenager I guess."

He didn't seem happy with my reasoning at all.

"I'm going to have to take you in to the station, kid. Your license will be probably be suspended, plus you might have to go to court, do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," I replied, head still cast downwards.

"Do I need to cuff you?" He asked me slightly amused, it was refreshing to feel that emotion from him.

"No, sir," I replied, making eye contact the whole time. In a way this was working out better than expected. I couldn't manipulate Chief Swan's emotions here on the side of the road, no I needed somewhere he felt safe and I was betting that he felt safe at the station. I wasn't worried, I knew Carlisle would bail me out. A safe way to manipulate Chief Swan's emotions was all I wanted at this moment. "Let me just text my brother to pick up my bike." He nodded his head, but stood by me. I think he was thinking that I might run off.

I texted Emmett and after a lot of, why's, he finally agreed to come and get it.

"You set?" Chief Swan asked me and I nodded my head submissively.

"Can I sit in the front?" I asked as he led me to the car.

"No," came his short reply.

"Can we turn the siren on?" I asked him as I took my seat in the back. He hesitated and I sent him some joy, just a little bit to peak his interest, just a little to make him cave.

"Sure," he answered, smiling, before covering it up as soon as he realized he was doing it. He needed to learn that it was okay to be happy, that being happy would most likely inspire Bella to be happy as well.

He turned the siren on and even though the sound killed my ears, I smiled at the childish joy that was running through him. I suspect that when he was a kid someone must have sat him in a police car and turned the siren on for him. A family figure maybe. Maybe it's the reason he became a cop. Either way he was remembering something from a happier time. He speed up, as he was using the siren, and we were at the station in no time.

He opened the door for me and we made our way inside. He processed everything, wrote it all down. This was the first time I had ever been arrested and Chief Swan was very professional and methodical. He got me processed, got me to empty my pockets, and then I could feel some joy bouncing off him again. He told me to follow him and I did. We stopped in front of a phone, ah my one phone call, right. I picked up the phone and Chief Swan watched me with an amused expression on his face, most likely wondering how I was going to get out of this one. I dialed Carlisle's number at the hospital and prayed he picked up, better him than having to call Esme.

"Carlisle Cullen," came his professional reply.

"Hey dad," I said trying to act nervous and slightly scared in front of Chief Swan, he seemed to be buying it. He was emitting a kind of satisfaction.

"Jasper?" He questioned, clearly confused. "Are you alright son?"

"Umm, I, ah," Chief Swan was enjoying this way too much. He didn't know that I too was enjoying his enjoyment. "I got arrested." Chief Swan smiled at me.

"What for?" Carlisle sighed.

"Speeding," I answered hanging my head in shame. "I'll need you to, umm, come down here and bail me out, I guess."

I had no idea if I was being charged or not as of yet.

"I'm swamped," Carlisle replied and I knew that he was enjoying this as much as Chief Swan. "I can come by in an hour or so, okay?"

"Okay," I accepted. I didn't really care when he came, the time would pass quickly for me either way. I hung up the phone and Chief Swan looked at me expectantly. "He's at work, he said he'd come and pick me up when he can, maybe in an hour."

Chief Swan smiled again. "How'd he take the news?"

"Not good," I lied. Truth be told Carlisle didn't really care what we did, we were all legal adults after all, as long as we stuck to his diet we were good in his eyes. "I think he was disappointed in me," I added and Chief Swan's smile grew wider.

"I have to put you in a cell," The Chief said sadly, but his emotions were contradicting him. He was pleased. Pleased that he finally had one of the straight laced Cullen's in his station, I assume.

"Okay," I acted scared again.

"You'll be fine kid, it's for your own good though," Chief Swan led me over to the cell block . "I don't want to be called out to find you spread across the road and we have to use a shovel to pry your remains off the road."

Nice, Chief. I wanted to smile at his tactics, but I paled instead. He smiled triumphantly at me and he felt genuinely good. That made me happy. He put me in the cell and locked it.

"I'll let you out when your father comes," he informed me before leaving me on my own.

I moved down to the other end of the cell, to get a better look at the whole station. My next task was going to take a lot of skill and restraint. Chief Swan sat down at his desk, I could see the back of his head. I heard him pick something up off his desk, he sighed and replaced the item. His positive emotions left immediately and were replaced with the negative ones I was used to feeling from him. I waited fifteen minutes. Waited for the Chief to relax back into his negative outlook. I slowly began to work my magic. I had never actually done this before but I was sure it would work. I just needed to take it slow and concentrate.

I rested my head against the bars and focus on Chief Swan solely. I sent him calm to begin with, I didn't remove his emotions, it'd be so easy to do that, but it wouldn't work. I couldn't suppress his emotions, no, they would just resurface with a vengeance further down the track. I worked the calm carefully and slowly, oh so slowly. I guess you could think of it as a massage. I was giving Chief Swan an emotional back massage, letting his emotions settle and drain to the back of his mind for a moment. I was slowly letting the calm overtake him. He could still feel everything, but only barely. It took all my focus. There was a method to my madness. I was almost there. His eyes were closed, he was so relaxed. He was slumped back in his chair. I finally hit the point where he couldn't relax any further. It was time, I had to be careful here. I kept the calm up and I slowly added hope. This man needed hope more than anything else. I slowly wove the hope in. Making a tangled mess. I backed off the calm slowly, allowing his emotions to slowly resurface. Still weaving the hope in between everything. It would be like a slow release pain killer. Chief Swan would feel this hope for a long time if this worked out how I wanted it to.

I was getting close to completing my, hopefully not futile, task. When Carlisle came in. I heard him address me but I just held my hand up for him to stop. I had to focus on this. It was getting closer. All of Chief Swan's emotions were nearly back in place. I had to be careful here. I had to do it so slowly. I didn't want the emotions to snap back into place, no, that'd be too much of an emotional shock for the Chief to handle. I finally got everything back to normal. Chief Swan opened his eyes and straightened up. He seemed none the wiser, he'd just think he drifted off for a moment. I tested his emotions, everything was the same, but yes, it had worked. I could feel the hope now. It was small, but it was there. It was up Chief Swan now if he'd use the hope to his advantage or not. Either way he'd be able to feel it.

I stumbled back. Emotionally exhausted. It was the first time I had ever done anything like that. I sat down on the bed provided. I didn't even listen to Carlisle and the Chief talking, no, I just tried to get everything right in my head again. Thankfully they seemed to talk for a while, long enough for me to finally feel like my normal self again. They approached my cell and I was happy to see Chief Swan in high spirits again. He opened the door and I kept my head down as I stood and made my way over to Carlisle.

"Son," Carlisle spoke and I finally met his gaze. Looking as sad and regretful as I could. "Chief Swan has agreed to let you off with a warning," I let out a sigh of relief, "However, we've decided that you are banned from driving for three months, no exceptions."

I could tell that Carlisle was dead serious. Sure not being able to drive would be annoying, but I'd be able to run everywhere, so it wasn't that bad. "Okay," I accepted as I dropped my head down again.

"Learn from your mistake, kid," Chief Swan told me.

I looked up at him, "I will," I told him earnestly. "Thank you Chief Swan," I said as I rested my hand on his shoulder and gave him a dose of strength.

"No problem kid, I hope I don't see you again and remember what I said about the shovel."

I paled my face for a second time, "Yes- Yes sir," I faltered for effect and this seemed to please him.

"Thanks Charlie, for everything," Carlisle shook his hand.

"No problem, he seems like a good kid."

"Come on Jasper," Carlisle said as he put his arm around me and led me out the door.

I was finally free. Oddly enough the first thing I thought of was the task I was racing to achieve when I got pulled over. I still couldn't wait to do it and hopefully I had deceived Alice so she wouldn't see it coming, but still none of that mattered right now as I knew that I'd have to explain myself to Carlisle on the way home and I wasn't particularly looking forward to that.

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><p><strong>AN- **Oh my, this chapter is so long. I wanted to cut it in half but I didn't. I spent the past five-six hours straight on this chapter and I am drained. I wanted to get it up for you guys though. I hope I did the emotions justice. I've never really thought about what emotions make other emotions and it was very enlightening, yet very tiresome. Any-who, I wanted to add Jasper's 'task' against Alice in this chapter but alas it's already way too long, so I'll add it in the next.

I spent ages on this chapter so please, if you're able, take the time to drop me a review


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing guys, we hit a new record (for this story) I wonder if you guys will beat it this time. Anyway thanks for reviewing, I read and appreciate every single one of them

Truthfully I don't even know how I finished this chapter. I've been sick for the past week and my brain has not even been functioning right today or yesterday, yet I finished this, somehow. I seriously don't know how I did it.

Anyway.

**ICanSeeYourFace** a good fanfiction friend of mine guessed what Jasper was going to do to Alice, so yay for her. She actually wrote that I'd think of something better than that, but alas I didn't. I still like it though. Anyway she has a Bella/Jasper story called **Prima Bellarina **it's about ballet, in a ballet school, with Jasper in tights, yes, Jasper in tights. If you're not already reading it then go on over there and read it. It has Jasper in tights for Pete's sake. She's under my favorite author list so click on the story through that way as I'm not linking it :)

Okay, no more crapping on.

Enjoy

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><p>Oh yeah this was definitely worse than I thought it would be.<p>

"Carlisle you're suffocating me," I told him as I opened up the car window. Carlisle's emotions were coming off so strong. Opening the window did nothing to calm him down but I hoped he would take the hint.

"Jasper," he was way too excited.

"What?" I asked him, staring out the window.

"Jasper," he spoke again, still excited.

"What?" I turned to face him.

"I'm proud of you son," he smiled widely at me.

"Really?" I asked him in annoyance, "because the crushing amount of pride I can feel right now wasn't convincing me." His pride never wavered with my comment. Sure I had felt pride towards me from Carlisle and Esme before but this was different. This was strong and I had no idea why he was so proud of me, but something else was troubling me more, it was his emotions. They weren't the same as they usually were. "Why do your emotions resemble that of a small child?" I asked him confused. I had never seen Carlisle act like this before.

"What?" He asked confused and his emotions shifted slightly, he was feeling a glimmer of distress. I knew that emotion all too well, people became distressed when they were trying to hide something they didn't want anyone else to know.

I didn't answer him. I just thought about what had changed. Nothing had changed in a long while, except Edward leaving. That must be it. I had never seen Carlisle without Edward before. Sure they went hunting by themselves, but they were really apart this time. Carlisle knew Edward was in Alaska for a while and because of that his emotions shifted. I frowned at this. Why would his emotions shift so drastically just because Edward wasn't around. I tried to work out exactly what he was feeling. What were the main differences between two days ago and today. Something had changed and I struggled to put my finger on it. Carlisle was a compassionate person by nature, that's it. It's like it hit me smack bang in the middle of my forehead. His compassion had decreased slightly and it was replaced with an overwhelming amount of bliss, pure happiness.

"You know," I turned to face him. "You don't have to help him all the time. I know that he's your son and all that, but you don't owe him anything, not anymore. He's a over a century old Carlisle, he's not a kid anymore. Sure he still needs guidance and he still needs you, but you don't have to sacrifice your happiness for his."

"When did you get so smart?" He asked me, the pride returning once again. This emotion, when directed solely at me, well it always unnerved me greatly. I sent him a dose of calm.

"I've just been thinking about emotions more lately," I explained to him. "You know Edward's emotionally stunted right?" I just came right out and said it, he needed to know everything.

"I know," Carlisle replied, guilt overtaking him.

"It's not your fault," I reassured him. "Sure Edward was changed relatively young, but that doesn't matter. We're not stuck mentally or emotionally as vampires. No. We can grow and change to adapt to everything. Edward just doesn't know how to do this properly."

"Yes, but I changed him, it's my job to help him with this."

"No, it's not. Sure in the beginning it was, but Edward's a big boy now, he needs to figure this out on his own," Carlisle sighed. "You know Alice believes that he's her mate right."

"I've heard this," Carlisle responded. "Will she be able to help him then?"

"I don't know," I told him honestly, "But I'm sure of two things, first you need to let go of him. He needs to learn how to do all of this without your help. I'm not telling you to abandon him, just let him go slowly, he won't notice. And second, you need to put your emotions first, you're so free right now emotionally, so happy. Like it or not, but Edward's holding you back from true happiness." I could feel confusion and reluctance coming off him. "Just think it through."

If there was one thing I couldn't stand in this world it was people denying themselves, denying their true emotions for someone else. You should never have to bend to fit someone else's ideal of you, no matter who they are in relation to you. If they love you enough then they will love you even more for your quirks and flaws. Nothing you can do will change their mind about you. Take Rose and Emmett. Emotionally they are complete opposites. Emmett takes life by the horns, it's his playground where he can do whatever he wishes. Rose on the other hand, she takes more of a contemplative approach. She will observe first before she decides on anything else. She's like me in that respect, but she prefers not to get involved with anything that she feels doesn't pertain to her. She doesn't like to wear her heart on her sleeve. And I don't know exactly why it works, but Emmett and Rose just fit together. When I observe their emotions when they are together, they are constantly feeding off each other's emotions. Sometimes it's hard to see who's the one who initiated the emotion, they just blend together, they became one.

"How are you doing without Alice?" Carlisle asked me as we pulled into our driveway. The trip home was hell, Carlisle made sure he was under the speed limit the whole time, it was so slow.

"What?" I faked confusion.

"I heard you and Alice split this morning? You doing alright?" Carlisle, ever concerned.

"I'm fine. How'd you find out anyway?" I was under the impression that no one knew yet.

"The usual chain of gossip," Carlisle smiled at me. "Alice tells Esme everything, then Esme tells me everything."

"What do you mean everything?" I asked him, trying to scope out how much Alice had been telling Esme all this time, and in turn telling Carlisle.

"Well, you should know how much Alice loves to gossip," Carlisle pulled into the garage.

"So, basically everything then," I sighed.

"Yes," Carlisle was still smiling at me, it was slightly weird, and the pride was back.

"Why are you so proud of me?" I asked him confused as we left the car.

"Many reasons Jasper," well that didn't help me out at all, thankfully he continued. "I'm proud that you're still here with the family. Alice told Esme of your plans to run as soon as she let you go, so I'm proud that you're still here. You've changed so much over the past few days Jasper, it just make me happy."

"Yeah, I can feel that," he definitely was overly happy. He curiosity spiked and I looked at him confused.

"What were you doing to Charlie when I can into the station?" Oh, what do I tell him here.

"Just giving him some hope," I answered simply, vaguely. Carlisle's pride was rising up again so I took this as my chance to run. I left him without another word and ran up the stairs to mine and Alice's room.

"Jasper," Alice eyed me warily from the bed.

"Yes," I sighed. Carlisle's emotional shift had really thrown me through a loop.

I could feel the concern coming off of Alice directed towards me. I held up my hand and waved her off. Her concern dissipated and was replaced with confusion.

"You're not doing it today?" She asked me and I frowned at her, what was she on about now. "I can still see that you're planning on doing it, but it's not today anymore."

"Doing what?" I asked her becoming frustrated, couldn't she just spit it out. My head was all kinds of fucked up at the moment. Shit better start realigning soon or I'll be screwed.

"The whole reason you were racing home, the thing you've been planning to do for decades." Right, thankfully my head decided to give me a break momentarily and I could feel my excitement returning slowly. "You really forgot?" Alice's concern was back, full force. "You know you can talk to me right?"

I scoffed at that. "Why? Just so you can tell Esme and then she can tell Carlisle?"

"And Rose," she spoke softly, with a twinge of regret.

Rose too?

"So basically everyone knows about our fucked up relationship?" I asked her and I was surprised to find that I was relieved by this fact. It was good that mine and Alice's split wouldn't come as a shock to anyone.

"Everyone except Edward and Emmett." I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well Edward was left in the dark for obvious reasons, he couldn't know yet."

"And Emmett?" I asked her. I couldn't understand why he was left out of the loop.

"For fun?" Is all she answered.

For fun? I never understood her reasoning at times.

"How much does everyone know?" I asked her and then dropped my voice so that only she could hear. "What do they know about me and my plans towards Bella? What do you know about me and Bella?"

"I told you today, I can't see what you're doing with Bella, all I can see is how it all ends up, and I've told no one anything about Bella."

I sighed frustrated. "Is Bella in our future? Do I fix her? Is she happy in the future?"

"I'm not answering that Jasper. You said today you didn't want to know anything and I'm sticking to your wishes."

"At least answer me this, am I happy in this future?" Surely she'd be able to answer this for me.

She closed her eyes for a minute before answering, "Yes."

Okay, good. I could deal with that. As long as I was happy in the end I guess that's all that matters. Now back to the task at hand. A split decision and Alice was on me just as quick.

"No, Jasper, you can't," she jumped up off the bed and tried to stop me.

"You can't fight this forever Alice," I said as I made my way across the room. "You said so yourself, this is going to happen. I've been planning this for decades now. You know you can't stop me."

"Just think it through," Alice weakly defended as I made my way over to our closet. "Please Jasper."

"They're just clothes Alice," I said as I grabbed as many of my Alice approved clothes out of the closet as I could.

"Jasper," she breathed out, "I bought you these clothes."

"Exactly," I went to push past her but she stood her ground. "Our relationship is ending Alice, do you know what humans do in this situation? They get rid of everything that the other person gave them, they get rid of all reminders."

"Don't you think that's a little drastic?" She asked me.

"Nope, I've been dreaming of this day Alice, and today is the day," I told her firmly, she was about to protest when she closed her eyes and he emotions went haywire. A vision. My chance. I pushed past her and made my way down the stairs.

I had to do this quick before she snapped out of her vision. I went out to the gravel driveway and dumped my clothes onto the ground. I didn't even wait a second before I pulled my trusty lighter out of my pocket and lit the clothes on fire.

"What is going on?" Esme asked me as they all came out of the house, everyone but Alice.

"No more Alice, no more clothes," I replied simply.

"No clothes?" Emmett questioned confused. "Are you going to go around naked Jazz-man?" I laughed at him, it would all click in a moment and I suddenly knew why everyone had kept Emmett out of the loop. "Wait, you and Alice broke up?"

"Yep."

"But you were perfect for each other, you loved each other so much. You tell that stupid sappy story of how you met in that diner and you felt hope. Is this a joke?"

Oh poor Emmett, he'd get it eventually.

"No. I'm done with her, I'm moving on."

"You're going to leave, aren't you?" He accused me, his anger and hurt rising. "I mean without Alice here, you've-"

"I'm staying," I cut him off, "For the time being," I added. I had to be honest with them all. I was not going to make a promise that I was going to stay with them forever, not when I couldn't keep it.

His emotions immediately calmed down and relief flooded his body.

"Where's Alice? How is she dealing with all this?" Emmett was growing concerned.

"She's fine, she's in the middle of a vision right now."

"How is she fine? How are you fine? This makes no sense." Poor Emmett.

"I'll explain it to you," Rosalie said as she led him inside.

I looked down at the pile of burnt clothes and I felt instantly relieved. Like another weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Ah, no more uncomfortable clothes. I know we can't actually feel uncomfortable, but just the thought that I was wearing them made me uncomfortable. Alice finally decided to join us and I could feel that she had given up. Good, she was never going to win anyway. These clothes were getting burnt one way or another, and frankly I would have burnt down the house to achieve this goal, but thankfully it didn't come to that. Esme would have killed me.

"I'm proud of you son," Carlisle with the overwhelming pride again.

"I like seeing you happy," Esme added, but truthfully I was still affected by Carlisle's pride to even note her feelings.

I leant over and whispered in Carlisle's ear just so that he could hear, "Esme's giving off some pretty big feelings of lust right now."

And it worked like a charm. Carlisle had scooped Esme up and was in the house before the blink of an eye.

"Are you going to allow me to burn the rest of my clothes yet?" I asked Alice, she still hadn't approached me.

"I'm not going to stop you Jasper." Good.

"What was your vision about?" I asked as I made my way over to her. It was time to get the rest of my clothes and shoes before Alice changed her mind.

"Not the shoes," she shrieked.

"Alice, the vision," I tried to bring her back on track.

"Right," she smiled and I could feel her becoming mischievous. "So, you're going to burn all of your clothes?" She asked me.

"Most of them, you already know this Alice."

"Oh, I know," her mischievousness was still climbing, "That's why I'm taking you shopping."

"What?" I asked her confused, "No, no way."

"Yes, I saw it," she smiled at me, "Don't worry I'll stick by your wishes, but I'm still coming along."

Hmm, I guess if she saw it then she was going to make it happen either way. I could still ditch her if she was forcing me to buy anything I didn't want to.

"When are we going?" I sighed.

"We can either go now or after you've burned _everything_ you own."

"Let's go now," I just wanted to get this over and done with, plus I'd have the joy of burning more clothes when I got back.

Alice did her happy squeal and ran into the house. I just waited for her to come back. I was thinking about what car to take when Carlisle spoke. "Don't forget you're banned from driving." Right, maybe this whole no driving thing would be an inconvenience after all, I guess it was a good thing Alice was coming along. And now seeing as Alice was driving we'd be taking her Porsche. I went over to the garage and hopped into the passenger side.

I suddenly had a thought, was helping Chief Swan really worth no license for three months. I frowned. Although I hated it I couldn't be mad at myself. If Chief Swan took the hope on board even for a little while it could help Bella a lot in her recovery. I just had to suck it up in the meantime.

Alice finally joined me. She was all dressed up, her face all done up. I don't know why she even bothered. Firstly she was already inhumanly beautiful and secondly I just couldn't understand why. I knew she felt better when she was all made up. Her emotions were more positive. Extra confidence, all that, but I don't see why. She didn't need all these material things to make her feel like that. Maybe it's one of the things Edward's supposed to help her with. If he's her true mate then I'm sure he'll be able to give her the confidence she needs. I know I never could.

She drove fast, thankfully. I was so glad she didn't pull a Carlisle and drive under the speed limit just to rub it in my face. She asked me where I wanted to go, but I of course had no idea. I said she could pick the shops that she knew would suit me and she did. We went in. I walked around grabbing things I liked and we bought them. I bought a few pairs of jeans. Alice picked the size, style and cut for me. I had no idea what I wanted, but Alice seemed to. We didn't try them on, but everyone she held up for me looked pretty good to me. I had no problems and I was enjoying that Alice was keeping her mouth shut. I was actually really proud of her.

We bought more things. Belts. Some original belt buckles that reminded me of home. Some band shirts, as well as some plain t-shirts. We also grabbed a whole bunch of long sleeve plain shirts in different colors because I liked to have my scars covered up at all times when possible. I knew they were hard for a human to see, but if they looked at me close enough they'd be able to see that nearly every square inch of my body was covered in them. Plus it was more of a comfort thing. If I knew they were hidden then I didn't have to think about them at all. We left jackets off the list today which I was thankful for, but Alice made me buy a new pair of sunglasses which made no sense at all. I mean we didn't need them at all, but she insisted that they'd look good on me. I didn't even try them on, I just bought them.

I thought we were finished but then Alice mentioned something about shoes, so of course we had to go buy some. Boots, that's all I would get. A new pair of brown distressed cowboy boots, and a pair of black leather motorcycle boots that looked oh so good. I steered Alice away after the two. I didn't need any more. I had finally convinced Alice that we were done for the day, but I had to reassure her that we would come back if there was anything else I needed, anything at all. I was happy to tell her this. Shopping with Alice this time round wasn't that bad. I was even excited with some of the purchases we made.

We were finally on our way out. Alice stopped suddenly by my side, her emotions were going haywire again. I knew she was having a vision so I brought her into a hug so that no one would notice her strange behavior. This vision seemed to go on for a while, so I pulled her off to the side. She finally snapped out of it and looked up at me. Determination was her main emotion now.

"What was it?" I asked her.

"We need to buy one more thing," she told me. This I was not happy about. I thought I was home free for the day. "I picked it up earlier, but I didn't know why. Now I know and we have to get it."

"Okay, okay," I could feel how determined she was. "Go and get it then."

"You're not even going to check what it is?" She asked me confused.

"No, I just want to go home," I told her honestly. "Go buy it and you can show me later."

"You're not going to like it," she told me and I could tell she was being honest.

"Look Alice, I'm sure it's not expensive, just go and buy it so we can leave. I'll meet you in the car."

She huffed, but she went off anyway. I couldn't care less what she was buying. It's not like I _had_ to wear it. All I wanted to do was get out of this mall before she made me buy anything else. Shopping would never be my favorite thing. Not unless I was buying a new guitar or something. Oh, I could really go for a new guitar. I looked around for a music shop.

"Jasper, don't you even dare," I heard Alice. I had no idea where she was, but she obviously saw what I was going to do. Ah, she was probably right. I already had three, so it's not like I needed another one. Not yet at least. "Jasper, car, now."

Ah, good to know I wasn't going to lose pushy Alice in our separation because that would have been so bad. Yay for sarcasm. I heard her growl. I don't know why, but in some hope that she could suddenly read my mind, I hightailed it right to the car, never looking back.

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><p><strong>AN- **Initially I was going to have Alice and Jasper buy the mystery item together but it came out this way instead. I don't know if I like that, but oh well, it's not that important. Also it was originally going to be in this chapter, but I wanted to get this out to you guys tonight.

Review please.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing, not as many this time round, but that's what you get, I guess.

I just wanted to let you guys know that Alice is going to be good in this story and that's not going to change. And please remember that her and Jasper are just really good friends and they have been for a long time, they love each other in a friendly way only.

Enjoy

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><p>We were finally home. Alice's emotions in the car kept jumping for excitement, to doubt, to some form of satisfaction, then back again. All about some stupid piece of clothing I would never wear.<p>

"Do you want to see what it is?" She asked me as soon as I left the car with all my bags.

"Not really," I answered heading for the house.

"Are you sure you really want to open it in front of everyone?" What was she getting at now. Is it something embarrassing? Why wouldn't I want to open it in front of everyone. "It has to do with Bella?" She finally told me.

"Bella?" I questioned confused. How can whatever she bought have to do with Bella? I guess the bigger question was whether or not I wanted the rest of the family, sans Edward, to be in on my general plan with Bella. I guess it didn't matter if they knew. It would all come out one day. Plus then they would realize that I hid it from them. It not as though I owed it to them either. I guess I'll just play it by ear. If they found out some of the things then fine, but I wasn't going to go around asking permission or including any of them in on my plans.

"Good," Alice said, obviously seeing my decision.

I didn't question her I just made my way inside the house and dropped my bags near the couch. I didn't know where I was going to put all this stuff. I'm sure Alice and I weren't going to be sharing a room anymore. I turned around and faced her.

"Okay, let's get this over and done with."

"Here," she handed me the bag and then took a step back. I eyed her confused, but didn't question her.

I reached into the bag and pulled out the item of clothing. It was a hooded sweatshirt. Really? This was way below Alice's standards of approved clothing, hell it was even below my standards. "I'm not wearing this," I informed her as I looked at the forest green, or maybe military green, colored hooded sweatshirt. She couldn't really think that I'd wear something like this.

"You don't really have a choice," she informed me, "Well you have a choice but you're going to wear it, I can see it."

"Really?" She seemed so sure of herself, when I was so sure I wouldn't wear it at all, ever. "You better explain why I even need to wear this at all."

"Okay," she said and I noted that we were now joined by the rest of the family. I had no doubt they were just as curious as to why Alice was making me wear this offending piece of clothing as I was. "So, Edward's coming back on the weekend."

Okay this was news. I felt worry come from Carlisle and I turned to face him.

"You better not change back," is all I told him. "I can't handle that right now."

Everyone looked at us confused but Carlisle waved them off. If he changed his emotions back just to please Edward, well I don't know what I would do, but it wouldn't be good.

"So, Edward's coming back?" Rose asked, boredom the main emotion there, clearly trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Yes, Edward's coming back but he won't see Bella until school on Monday," Okay what does Edward have to do with Bella. I wasn't going to interrupt Alice again, she needed to get this out before I jumped to any conclusions. "Edward's decided that he's going to talk to Bella on Monday during Biology, he wants to get to know her."

"Why?" I asked her confused. Why would Edward want anything to do with her? She's his singer, he should be staying away from her.

"He can't read her mind," Alice answered and yet another piece of the puzzle fell into place. "It has him intrigued. I can see them eventually getting to know each other and they form an attraction, they think it's love but they're both blinded. Edward by his inexperience and Bella because she's broken, she will crave any form of love or attention at the moment."

"Okay, what does any of this have to do with this," I motioned to the green sweatshirt still in my hands.

"This is where your choice comes in Jasper. I'm going to lay it all out for you and you can decide what you're going to do. The only option that works out well for everyone involved is if you claim Bella?"

"Claim her?" I questioned confused. I had heard the term before but I didn't exactly know what it entailed.

"You obviously can't claim her in the way in which most vampires would claim someone," Alice explained and I felt Emmett give off a bit of lust. Okay, so I understood that part and there was no way I was claiming Bella in that way. "But there's another way that will work and it involves you wearing that sweatshirt nonstop from now until Sunday night."

"I don't understand," I admitted to her.

"If you wear that sweatshirt and leave it on Bella's bed Sunday night she's going to wake up Monday morning and put it on," Alice explained, I was still confused. "Biology comes around and Edward sits next to Bella, he's just about to talk to her when he smells your scent on her and he backs off."

"He just backs off?" Surely my scent wouldn't deter him.

"Jasper," Carlisle spoke up. "When a vampire claims someone they are theirs, now especially in a coven like ours, Edward will realize this by smelling you on Bella and he'll have to ask your permission first before speaking or interacting with her."

"What does this mean?" I asked them confused, "I don't want her as my mate."

"No, it's nothing like that son," Carlisle explained to me, "You just have claim on her. You're not obligated to have her as your mate or anything like that, and you can give up your claim whenever you wish. Say if you decided that Edward was good enough for her then you would pass your claim of her onto him."

"What if I just want to pass up my claim on her all together, not giving her to anyone in particular," I needed to get all the facts straight before I did anything.

"You can do that, but then anyone can claim her and you have no say in the matter."

"Look Jasper," Alice began, "It's more of a preventative matter than anything else. You've got to ask yourself whether or not you want or need Edward interfering with what you're planning. Plus you can also have claim on a human for their whole life without doing anything. This kind of claim doesn't hold up in the human world, only ours."

"So I can claim her and she can still get married and everything with no problems?" I asked Alice and she nodded her head. "Okay? And I don't have any responsibilities or anything like that?"

"Not with how you are going to claim her," Carlisle told me, "Just claiming her with your scent is enough to deter Edward for now. If in the future you may decide you need to claim her properly, well then, you'd have to mark her, umm, in the throes of passion."

Throes of passion, really Carlisle. So basically it meant nothing. I tried to think of what it would be like if Edward got to know her and I immediately shut down that idea. One word, possessive. I play the piano a little and Edward won't even let me in the same room as it. Only he can play it and I'm sure that's what he would be like with Bella. He'd whisk her away and I wouldn't even be able to get close to her. I wouldn't be able to help her. I sighed. I guess it's what I'd have to do. I grabbed the sweatshirt and pulled it over my head.

"Yes!" Alice excitedly clapped her hands.

"Are you sure I have to wear this 24/7?" I asked her, surely I could take it off.

"Yes, all the time," Alice answered. "You can take it off to shower but then it's straight back on, understand? You even have to wear it hunting."

I couldn't understand how Alice was okay with this. I mean I had to wear the same sweatshirt for the next three days of school, plus the weekend, surely that was against some fashion law in Alice's mind. I had never even seen her wear the same outfit twice. I guess it was just better for her this way. Edward would never fall in love with the human girl. I wasn't complaining though, if I could keep Edward out of this then it would be better for me anyway.

"So, what's going on with Bella?" Esme asked me excitedly.

"Nothing," I sighed as I picked up all my shopping bags and made my way to the stairs.

"He's just helping her get better emotionally," Alice answered for me, yeah thanks for that Alice.

"Oh, that's is so sweet of you," Esme gushed. "That poor girl."

"Right, okay," I pushed past them all and made my way up to mine and Alice's room. I could hear them all talking about me and Bella downstairs, I attempted to block them out. I opened the door to the room and I could immediately tell that all my stuff was no longer in there. "What the hell?"

"Oh, whoops!" I heard Esme and a second later she was at my side. "I set up a new room for you Jasper, whilst you and Alice were out shopping."

"Okay," she seemed excited and I must admit I was too. Knowing that I was going to have a room of my own was definitely good news.

She led me down to the end of the hall, to the room next to the library, my library. She was so excited as she opened up the door and she let me enter first. I was shocked at what I saw. The room was now one big room. The wall separating the library had been torn down and the bookshelves that were on that wall were now on the walls of the bedroom. You couldn't really tell where the library ended and the bedroom began, but it looked good, really good. The bookshelves lined half of the walls of the entire room. My desk was still up the end of the library where I left it, and up the other end of the room was a new bed, bedside cupboards, the works. I had no closet so Esme had installed some floor to ceiling cupboards for me in a nice cedar oak. I turned back around, wondering why she took me through this door and I noticed that there was now bookshelves in front of the door to my library. I liked that. It made the library look like a hideaway.

"Thank you so much Esme," I said as I brought her into a hug. "I love it."

"Really?" She asked me excitedly.

"Yes," I said as I dropped the shopping bags on the floor and laid down on my bed. I put my arms behind my head and closed my eyes. I could definitely get used to this. No more Alice. A place to retreat that was just my own. I sent Esme everything I was feeling right now, my happiness, my gratitude, my love.

"You're welcome dear. Hopefully this can entice you to stay here a bit longer as well. Now remember Jasper just because you and Alice aren't together anymore you are still a part of this family, and if you do decide to leave one day, for whatever reason, please remember that you're welcome back here, no questions asked."

"Thanks Esme, I'll remember it."

"Now I put all of your clothes, well what was left of them," she chuckled, "Into your cupboards. Plus everything else out of Alice's room, which wasn't much as you keep most of your things in the library, and I didn't touch any of them."

"Thanks Esme, it really means a lot to me."

There was a knock at the door.

"Can I come in?" I heard Alice ask.

"Sure," I answered.

"I'll leave you two to it," Esme smiled at me and I sent her my gratitude once again.

Esme left us and I could see Alice looking around the room.

"It's big," she stated, "I like it, it suits you."

"I can't believe you were denying me this all this time," I said to Alice as I motioned to the room. I really did love it.

"Yeah, well if I had told you about your new room you never would have stayed around long enough to see it," she smiled sadly at me.

Well she had me there. Everyone now knew that I was only still here because of Bella, they all knew I was going to leave as soon as I could, with the exception of Edward and Emmett of course, but for the time being I was staying. I may even be tempted to stay just because of this room.

"Any reason you're in my room?" I asked her, never moving off my bed.

"Yeah actually," I saw her sit down on the edge of my bed, yes, my bed, all mine. "Are you planning on going over to Bella's tonight?"

I loved how she phrased it as though I go over to Bella's every night and we sit down and chat about guys.

"Wasn't planning on it," I answered her and she frowned. "I thought I told you to stay out of my future."

"I haven't said anything yet," Alice reminded me and she was right, though actions and reactions, coupled with emotions spoke louder than words.

"Well don't," I told her, she frowned again.

"Let me just say this then," she was taking a different tact, I could see that. "Bella needs time to heal, yes, but if you're not doing anything at all then you're just wasting time."

"Is that your complicated way of telling me that if I go over today instead of tomorrow things will get moving a day quicker?" I asked her slightly confused.

"I'm not saying anything," she added as she left my room.

Well she was right I guess. If I did nothing tonight then it would be a full twenty-four hours of nothing. Nothing gained at all. I jumped up from my bed, I guess now was as good as time as any. I briefly looked down at what I was wearing. Ah, this stupid sweatshirt, I pulled it away from my body and it just fell back against me. This better be worth it. I jumped out my window not wanting to explain to anyone else where I was going and made my way over to Bella's house. I climbed the tree Rose and I were occupying the other day. I settled on the branch and looked into Bella's window. She was just there, sitting on her bed, staring at my painting again. That made me smile. Her demeanor seemed calm but I couldn't get a read off her emotions.

I just sat and watched her. Just watched her looking at the mural. I had no idea why I was here, but I guess there must be a reason if Alice was pushing me to come. I couldn't see it though, I was achieving nothing by just sitting here watching her. I hadn't even decided what my next plan of action was going to be. I was contemplating leaving when my phone vibrated with a new text message. I pulled it out, Alice. _Stay, trust me. _Well I guess I can't argue with that. I just hoped that whatever it was would happen sooner rather than later. I really was ready to get back to my new room. I shifted slightly when Chief Swan pulled up in his police cruiser. Bella must have noticed as well as she tore her gaze away from the painting and looked out the window.

Chief Swan was barely in the door before he yelled out, "Bells." She got up from her bed and made her way down the stairs. I jumped out of the tree and tried to get a read on his emotions. I was happy to find his emotions relatively positive and I could still feel the hope, which meant that he has embraced it. If he had felt the hope and decided that he didn't want it then I wouldn't be able to feel it at all. I'm glad he had taken it on board. Now every time he felt one of his usual negative emotions he would feel a small glimmer of hope, and hopefully, eventually, this hope would rub off on Bella. They made their way into the kitchen and I took the long way through the forest so I could see them again.

Bella had already made dinner it seemed and she got it out of the oven and plated it up for her father. I noticed that she didn't put much food on her plate and when they were sitting down eating she spent more time pushing the food around her plate then actually eating it. I'd have to help her out with that one, if I could. Chief Swan made small talk the whole time and Bella stayed silent. It was then that I realized I hadn't even heard her voice yet. I briefly wondered what she sounded like. I guess I'd just have to wait and see. Dinner was over and I was once again wondering why the hell I was here. I tuned back into the Chief's emotions. He was feeling anxious, determined, but he was unsure. So I sent him some confidence and courage, that seemed to help him out as determination overtook him.

"Bella?" Chief Swan spoke quietly, carefully. She stopped rinsing the dishes and turned to face her father. He was faltering again. I sent him some more courage. He stood up and walked over to her slowly. She shifted slightly to the left but she didn't cower back. Chief Swan made his movements slowly. He stopped a few feet from her. She looked up at him confused, I still couldn't get a read on her emotions so I focused on the Chief. I could feel that he didn't need any more confidence or assurance for whatever he was about to say or do, but he almost seemed too confident. I sent him a small dose of apprehension. He needed to be wary. I didn't want him to be over confident and do something stupid.

He cleared his throat and outstretched his arms slowly. Giving Bella a silent invitation. She looked from his face, down to his outstretched arms, and back to his face again, but she didn't move. I sent Chief Swan some love, hoping he'd take it on board. Bella was staring at his face intently as it changed slightly, softened due to the love I sent him. She leant forward ever so slightly but no further. "I love you, Bells, you know that right," Chief Swan spoke gruffly, but it seemed to be the push she needed. She collapsed into her father's arms, gripping him tightly. Chief Swan's arms were around her just as quick and just as tight. It brought a smile to my face. I guess this was what Alice was getting at. I was proud that my job here was done.

I took one last look at them before I left and it was then when it hit me. I sunk to my knees straightaway. It seemed that in the comfort of her father's arms Bella was able to let go. Let go of everything. She was crying into her father's chest, but that's not what was affecting me, no. Her emotions were now free. The floodgates had broken and I was currently drowning. There were too many to name. Fear. Anger. Regret. Self loathing. Nervousness. Panic. Distress. Hostility. Hatred. Anguish. Hurt. Ah, there were just too many. Basically any emotion to do with fear, anger and sadness, she was experiencing them right now and I couldn't deal with it. I wasn't even mentioning the weird affection or the disgust or the longing, no, I couldn't deal with any of it. I had no idea how she had been dealing with this all along.

I stumbled to my feet. I needed to get away from her as fast as I could. I ran as best as I could. She must have been relieving the experience because I was getting powerful shots of different emotions every minute. I finally made it to the house. I burst through the front door and collapsed to the floor. I let out a frustrated growl. I was out of range of Bella's emotions now but I could still feel her emotions as strong as when I was outside her house. I let out another scream. It was too much. I had never felt this much before, not even from my own experiences. I couldn't even understand how Bella was still functioning. I couldn't understand why she was still affecting me. Another roar escaped me. I was in hell.

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><p><strong>AN- **Oh yes I did just leave it there, sorry, but yeah. Review and I'll make sure to try my very best to update tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing guys, I enjoyed them all.

And I left off on a pretty big cliffhanger with Jasper in pain, so I'll shut up now.

Enjoy

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><p>I was in hell. Bella's emotions were too strong. I wanted to help her. I needed to help her. There was something telling me that if I was close to her, that if I could send her some calm, then I'd be alright, then this would all stop. I was on my feet in no time, determination coursing through me. I didn't even make it a step before I felt hands on me, restraining me.<p>

I didn't have to look to know that Emmett had my right arm, Carlisle had my left arm, and Rosalie was behind me with one arm around my chest, the other one around my neck. I could break free so easily. No one could restrain me. I was the Major, god of war. Oh no. I could feel the Major awakening inside me. He was trying to break free. I couldn't let him break free. No. He'd find Bella and he'd kill her for hurting me, hurting us, I know he would. He wouldn't even blink an eye. I couldn't have that. I was not going to have Bella's blood on my hands. I tried to hold him back, but truth be told he was always there, in the back of my mind, to protect me. He didn't like seeing me in pain, he always took over when he deemed me too weak to survive the situation. I tried to convince him that I was alright, that I could handle this on my own.

I had decided not to go back to Bella and this seemed to calm the Major down. I was still being restrained but I was no longer struggling against them. Bella's ever present emotions had been forgotten during my internal battle against the Major. A battle I had seemingly won, somehow. So, I was caught off guard when Bella's emotions suddenly returned full force. Her despair hit my like a ton of bricks and my legs buckled underneath me. I was no longer being restrained. I was now being held up.

I felt them lower me down on the floor. I guess they had sensed that I had given up on going anywhere. I closed my eyes trying desperately not to scream out loud again. I tried to focus on the voices in the room. Bella's emotions weren't letting up and I needed a distraction. I could hear Alice over by the stairs muttering, it sounded like she was in pain by the tone of her voice. Thankfully I couldn't feel her, or the families, emotions right now. I had no doubt that if I could then it would tip me over the edge. I focused solely on her words and they finally became clear.

"I didn't know anything bad was going to happen. I didn't. If I did I wouldn't have pushed him to go." She was barely making any sense. I tried to focus on the voices closer to me.

"What's happening to him Carlisle?" Esme's worried voice washed over me.

"I don't know," Carlisle.

"We've got to do something," Rose. "There must be some way to help him."

Emmett, ever quiet. He always tended to shut down during dramatic events, taking more of an observant attitude. It worked out well for him as he usually spoke without thinking most of the time.

"Jasper, Jasper," Carlisle called out to me.

I had no doubt if I opened my mouth I'd scream. I gritted my teeth together tightly. What was I supposed to tell him anyway? There's nothing he can do to help me. It was like there was a pull in my chest, as if there was a rope attached to my chest connecting me to Bella. I could feel the pull. I instinctively began clawing at my chest, trying desperately to sever the rope. To cut the emotional tie between Bella and I. As soon as I began clawing I felt hands on top of my own, prying them away from my chest.

"You'll ruin Bella's sweatshirt," someone spoke, I don't know who. I stupidly opened my mouth to scoff at them, sure because that's what I'm worried about right now, but all that came out was a strangled whimper.

I was working hard on choking back more whimpers when it suddenly stopped. It was as if the tie between us had finally been severed. I stilled my hands and whoever was holding them let them go. I relaxed my body and instinctively tried to catch my breath. I was beyond exhausted. I kept my eyes closed tightly, not wanting to face reality yet.

It seemed odd that after feeling everything to suddenly feeling nothing. I felt someone pick me up. I had no idea where they took me. I was still trying to get things right in my head. I did note that I was now laying on something soft and someone was running their fingers through my hair. I slowly, cautiously, opened my eyes. I was met by Esme's loving and concerned gaze.

"Are you alright?" She asked me carefully.

"Yes," I replied roughly, still affected by what had just happened, whatever it was. "I- I-" I tried to begin but Esme ssshhh'd me.

"Jasper you need to sleep," well she wasn't wrong there. "Can you do that? Can you send yourself what you need to relax?" I wasn't sure if I could after everything that had happened so I stayed quiet. "Carlisle thinks you need to rest. We can discuss what happened to you when you wake up, okay?"

I nodded my head in agreement. I quite liked sleeping. Dosing myself with enough calm, peace, and lethargy to relax my whole body. A simple way to clear my head of not only thoughts but emotions too, basically I just knocked myself out. I had no doubt that it was exactly what I needed right now, and maybe my subconscious would come up with some answers whilst I was asleep.

I relaxed my stiff body as much as I could and focused on sending myself the right mix and amount of emotions. It was an emotional cocktail, carefully planned out, that would allow me to sleep in complete peace. I felt my worries leave my head, my body relaxing further. I settled back letting the emotions overtake me. Then nothing.

I awoke later and noticed that sun was attempting to shine through the clouds, so it was now daytime. The light flittered through the window, the window to my bedroom. I shifted slightly and startled Esme in the process. I took note of my surroundings and noticed that my head was currently in Esme's lap, her hand was tangled in my hair. She must have stayed with me all night.

"How are you feeling?" She asked me after I had time to regain all of my senses.

"Better," I answered as I sat up slowly. I noted that my head was a little foggy, but not as messed up as it was.

"Let me call Carlisle," Esme stood from the bed and I nodded.

She left the room using her vampire speed and I heard her calling Carlisle at the hospital. I took note of everything. My body seemed to be intact. There was a small tear in Bella's sweatshirt, I remember someone referring to it as that last night, right over my heart. Luckily it wasn't a big tear. It just made the hooded sweatshirt look well worn. My head, although a little fuzzy, seemed to be working fine. I closed my eyes to see if I was sensing emotions correctly again. I could feel Esme in Carlisle's study, concern was coming off her in small waves, along with a lot of relief. She was most likely relieved that I finally woke up and was now fine.

"What time is it?" I asked her as soon as she rejoined me.

"Lunchtime," Esme answered. I couldn't believe that I had been asleep for well over fifteen hours. I guess I really needed it. "Carlisle will be here as soon as he can."

I nodded my head again. I was happy that I was feeling emotions normally again, it was a relief. We just sat there. I was tuned into Esme's emotions. She was still with the concern and relief, back and forth. I found it extremely comforting. I got lost in the simplicity of her emotions that I didn't even hear Carlisle enter the house or my room.

"Jasper, how are you feeling?" Was everyone going to ask me that.

"Alright," I answered.

"You want to tell us what happened last night? All we got from Alice is that you went over to Bella's," Carlisle sat down on my bed opposite Esme and in front of me.

"Yeah, I went over there and everything was fine. I gave Chief Swan a few emotional pushes as he was having trouble achieving what he wanted to do. He ended up giving Bella a hug and telling her that he loved her, and she broke down." I took a small break trying to organize my thoughts. "She felt... everything. I don't know if it's because I hadn't really felt her emotions before, or if it was because she was feeling emotions coupled like nothing I've ever felt before. I just don't know. But her emotions just engulfed me. I ran as quickly as I could but the emotions didn't go away with distance like they usually do, no, they stuck with me. Whatever she felt, I felt. I don't know."

"Anything else?" Carlisle asked me.

I tried to think back to last night. "Yeah, there was some kind of pull, in my chest. I felt as though I needed to be with her, by her side, helping her, but I also didn't want to be anywhere near her. It just doesn't make sense to me."

Carlisle and Esme shared a look. I hated when they did that. They were usually communicating silently. They did it. Emmett and Rose did it. Alice and I could do it if we were focused, but we relied on using our gifts too much in our silent conversations. Maybe it was a mate thing. They were still 'talking', having a silent argument it seemed.

"Jasper," Esme finally spoke. "I've experienced this pull you're talking about before."

"Really?" I asked her confused. "When?"

"Whenever Carlisle is away from me. It's always there. If I know where he is and that he is safe then it's manageable, but if I don't know where he is, if I don't know if he's okay or not, well then the pull in my chest increases. It's letting me know that I have to go and check on him, that I won't be okay until he is by my side again."

"I don't understand, why would I feel this with Bella?"

"Jasper," Carlisle began slowly, "I've seen such a thing where," he paused, "Where mates have been forcefully kept apart and they end up dying from the loss, the pain, the heartbreak."

"But Bella and I aren't mates," I was beyond confused.

"Maybe because you've decided to claim her something has shifted inside of you, subconsciously," Carlisle suggested.

Did that even make sense? I had no idea what this whole claiming thing entailed, maybe I shouldn't go through with it.

"Or maybe you are mates," Esme spoke so quietly I almost missed it.

Bella and I mates? No, I didn't believe that. I couldn't. She was a human girl. The only reason I was interested in her at all was because she wasn't feeling emotions normally and I felt a need to help her. That was all, wasn't it? But what about the fact that she draws you in? What about the fact that you just don't want her to feel again, but that you want her to be happy? Oh, I so couldn't deal with this right now. I rested my palm on my forehead, it was getting foggy again, like I was thinking too much. I let out a sigh.

"Don't worry about the details," Carlisle rested a hand on my shoulder, feeling very calm and I soaked in his emotions. "It doesn't matter what it is, you'll just have to let us know when you feel like that again, okay? And be careful around Bella in the future, we don't want a repeat of last night."

"Bella?" I finally felt concern, maybe there was more to this then I thought. "She was feeling these emotions last night too, not just me. She must be so overwhelmed, she must be a wreck, just like me. I need to see if she's alright," I went to get up but Carlisle forced me back down.

"I'll call Alice right now, they're at lunch at the moment," I nodded my consent and he pulled out his phone.

"Carlisle," Alice spoke. I could hear the concern in her voice.

"Alice, is Bella there? Jasper wants to know how she is."

"Jasper? He finally woke up? How is he? Is he okay?" Alice asked frantically, I thought of answering her myself but I kept quiet.

"Yes, he's awake and he's doing okay. I think I'll order him to some more rest in a minute, he just wanted to know how Bella is."

"She's not at school today."

"What?" I asked suddenly worried. "Where is she then? I have to find her." I can't let her suffer under those emotions of hers.

"Jasper, calm down," Esme whispered to me, "You need to calm down. I'm sure Bella's fine."

"Yes," Carlisle agreed, "We'll get Alice to go by Chief Swan's house as soon as school's finished." I was about to protest when Carlisle spoke directly to me. "Jasper this is not you, you're acting irrationally, okay. You need to calm down and you need more rest. Alice will be happy to check on Bella after school."

I huffed. I could tell he wasn't going to budge on this. "Rose," I spoke quietly. "Send Rose to check on Bella."

"Okay," Carlisle accepted and then relayed the message to Alice. I could hear Rose agree in the background. Good. Carlisle hung up the phone and turned his attention back to me. "Are you ready to go back to sleep?" I kept quiet, did I really need more sleep. Would this fix me? Would this help turn me back into the sensible person I usually am? "You need it, doctor's orders," Carlisle smiled at me.

Doctor's orders, right? "I thought you were a human doctor," I shot back.

He let out a small laugh, "Well you know we can't force you, but I think it would be wise."

"Just think," Esme spoke, "When you wake up you'll have word on Bella, and I promise to wake you up as soon as she gets home. Just three more hours, that's all, okay?"

"Okay," I sighed, they'd never give up. Plus it would be a good way to fill in the time. Hopefully I'd wake up and I'd feel normal again. No more fogginess. Back to how I was before all of this. Carlisle smiled at me and left the room. I snuggled back into the pillows. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to," I told Esme.

She smiled at me, "I'd like to stay, just in case you need me."

Okay, if she wanted to stay I wasn't going to stop her. It didn't bother me either way. I began the process again. Relaxing myself back on my bed. Sending myself the emotional cocktail I needed. It didn't take as long this time round. I must be getting good at this. And I was out, for the second time in the past twenty-four hours.

I awoke later and Esme was no longer with me. I looked out the window and it looked to be later than four pm. I thought Esme was going to wake me up at three? I could feel Rose, Alice and Emmett's emotional makeup's downstairs, along with Esme's. They were talking quietly.

"We have to tell him," Rose spoke in a hushed whisper.

"But we don't know how he'll react," Emmett.

"He deserves to know," Rose added.

"He's awake," Alice told everyone and the next second everyone was in my room.

"What's going on?" I asked them all confused. "I thought you were going to wake me up?" I directed at Esme, though I was somewhat glad she let me wake up on my own. My head was no longer fuzzy and I felt as good as new.

"Sorry," Esme apologized, "You just looked so peaceful."

"What's going on?" I repeated and everyone turned their gaze to Rose.

Rose squared her shoulders and then spoke. "Bella's not at home, I don't know where she is."

Bella wasn't at home. She wasn't at school all day. Where the hell was she? That stupid pull was back in my chest but I pushed it away. I couldn't deal with that right now. I had to think this through. I'm sure she was fine. She just needed a break after last night. I would just swing by her house and see if I could work out what's going on. She was fine, I just knew it. She had to be. I jumped up and was out the window before anyone could blink. Not long later I was at Bella's, standing out the front of her house. Rose was right, Bella wasn't here.

I stared up at the house. I wondered where she was. If she was alright. I had felt the exact emotions she had felt last night and it killed me inside. Surely she was feeling the same, if not worse. Though I had to remind myself that she had been feeling these emotions for possibly two years. She slowly gained these emotions, whereas they hit me all at once. That thought gave me hope. She had to be alright. Sure she wouldn't be all fixed, but she wouldn't be worse, hopefully. I don't think I could take it if she was worse. It would be my fault after all.

I don't know how long I stood there just staring at the house, not even thinking of a plan. I was just standing there convincing myself that Bella was safe, I wasn't even doing anything to check on her at all. I was broken out of my thoughts by a car horn behind me. I spun around quickly, maybe a little too quick for a human. Chief Swan pulled up behind me in his police cruiser, Bella safely in the passenger seat.

"You want to go inside Bells?" Charlie smiled at her, "I'll be there in a minute."

She nodded her head in reply and exited the vehicle. She headed my way and she looked at me as she passed, she actually met my eyes. No emotions again, thankfully, but I was so proud she didn't keep her head down. Chief Swan seemed to notice as well and I could feel pride and hope coming off him. I followed her with my eyes as she went inside and she seemed more relaxed.

"Jasper," Chief Swan said as he clapped me on the shoulder from behind. "I hope you're not casing my place. I think you got a very fair deal, but if my house gets broken into or burnt down then I'm coming for you."

He seemed calmer, happier.

"I was just passing by, walking," I added for his benefit, turning to face him, "I thought I saw something, but I think it was just a reflection. Just wanted to make sure no one was in your house."

"Right," he was trying to instill fear in me, I could tell. "So how are you enjoying your walking?"

"It's harder than I thought it would be," I admitted and that was true. Time to turn the tables on the Chief. "So, Bella wasn't in school today?"

"No, she had a tough night last night, so I took her to Seattle for the day," Chief Swan told me and I think he was glad he had someone to talk to. "She enjoyed the city, she doesn't like small towns, too confined for her I think."

"She seems," I began not knowing if I was overstepping any boundaries. His curiosity spiked and he was looking at me hopefully, expectantly, "More relaxed," I finished off, it's the best I could do.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. I'm hoping last night was a breakthrough. I don't know. She just needs me more than I thought she did," he admitted to me. I was glad he was beginning to realize that.

"Good. Well I better go, got a long walk ahead of me," I smiled at him as I turned around.

"Don't you live on the other side of town?" the Chief asked me.

"Yeah, but I don't mind. It is my punishment after all."

"Nonsense, I'll drive you. It will be dark before you make it home. Just let me tell Bella where I'm going."

"Okay," I accepted. I could tell by Chief Swan's emotions that he wasn't going to give in.

He walked towards the house and I turned towards the police cruiser. "You can sit in the front seat this time Jasper."

I didn't answer him but I was silently rejoicing. I got into the police cruiser and listened in on their conversation. They didn't speak much but it seemed like it was all they needed.

"Hey Bells, I'm gonna drive the poor kid home, you wanna start dinner whilst I'm gone?"

Bella didn't reply but I got a small burst of pleasure from her, really small. It was gone before I even had time to process it. I was glad she had something she enjoyed doing. Chief Swan's emotions were suddenly bouncing around positively and when he came out the door he was smiling. Definitely good news. We're definitely taking a step in the right direction.

The drive to the house was quiet. I had to direct Chief Swan to the driveway when he missed it first time round. He pulled up to the house and stopped the car.

"Thanks Chief Swan, I'm glad I didn't have to walk," I told him, trying to be as honest as I could if I was a human.

"No problem Jasper, and please call me Charlie," I looked at him dumbfounded. "What? I'd say we know each other well enough, wouldn't you?" I nodded my head weakly. "Jasper can I ask you a favor?" He seemed a little concerned and desperate now. I wondered why his emotions shifted.

"Of course," I answered immediately.

"Can you look out for Bella at school, it's just, I don't know if she's ready to go back but I don't want her hanging around the house by herself all the time so I sent her. So would you mind keeping an eye on her? For me?" I could feel he was afraid I would reject him.

"That's fine Charlie," I answered and he was immediately relieved. "Thanks for the ride again." I got out of the car.

"Oh and Jasper," I turned back towards the car. "Don't tell her I asked you to look out for her, she doesn't like people helping her out. She's too selfless for her own good. So just... play it cool, okay?"

"Sure, I'll watch her from a distance, she'll never even know," I sent him some reassurance.

"Thanks Jasper," I watched as he turned around and pulled out of our driveway.

Well that was weird on all accounts. I was still shocked he asked me to call him Charlie, we weren't that close were we. Maybe he was like Bella. Alice said she'd fall in love with Edward because she just needed to feel love and it didn't matter who it came from. Maybe Charlie was the same. Maybe he just needed someone to talk to, anyone, and I was just the first person who showed some interest. I guess it didn't matter. Being on Charlie's good side gave me an insight into Bella and how she was doing that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

I finally turned around and headed indoors. Carlisle was immediately on me. "I do hope you didn't get in trouble with Chief Swan again?"

"Nope," is all I answered.

"And Bella?" Rose asked concerned from the top of the stairs.

"Fine," I answered smiling, "She spent the day in Seattle with Charlie."

"Charlie?" Emmett questioned me confused as he joined Carlisle standing right in front of me.

"Do you have a problem with that?" I asked him confused.

"Nope," he smiled his stupid dimpled smile at me, infuriating, he was definitely up to no good, "But I call rematch, right now."

Oh, of course Emmett would want to wrestle right now, right after I was fucked up the night before. I think he thought he'd have me because I was still weak from my ordeal, but truthfully I was feeling pretty damn good right now. Bella looked at me, she felt a positive emotion, she seemed better overall. Oh yeah, Emmett wasn't going to beat me, not today.

"You're on," I replied smiling wickedly.

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><p><strong>AN- **Review and tell me what you guys thought :)


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N- **A lot of you have this story on alert but not many of you are reviewing. Thanks for those who do/did review, much appreciated. You're the ones I'm writing for :)

I wrote 2,000 words of this on my phone and I found I quite liked writing it that way, and it didn't take _that_ long, haha.

Enjoy

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><p>Three hours. Three hours of putting Emmett down every time he came at me. Three hours of wrestling with him. He hadn't gained the upper hand once and he wasn't giving up. I was debating whether or not to just let him win or at least let him think he was about to win before I pushed him to the ground again. However, I knew I couldn't let him think he had a chance of beating me. He was currently sizing me up. Trying to decide his next avenue of attack. I just stood there, arms crossed. He was about ten feet away from me. Plenty of time to decide which way he was going before he got on top of me. I never charged him, I always waited for him to come at me, and if he had half a brain he'd do the same.<p>

The only benefit of charging your opponent first was if you had the reckless attitude of a newborn. If you weren't consistent with your moves. Changing it up at every second. Emmett wasn't like this, he was calculated and it always worked against him. He shifted slightly and his posture stiffened. He had decided his next plan of attack. I didn't move. I was already braced for his attack. His left toes shifted and dug slightly into the ground, a clear sign he was heading left. His shoulders raised slightly letting me know that he was going to try and grab my with his arms. And that's all I needed to know.

He charged me. Left, as predicted. When he was in reaching distance I crouched, hands planted firmly on the ground. I twisted my body. Got my feet planted firmly underneath his chest. When he was slightly over my body, I used his momentum as I straightened out my legs and he went flying off through the air. I pushed off with my hands and landed safely on my feet. I left him be and gave him the opportunity to charge me again.

He was angry, agitated, finally. Maybe he'd put up a fight this time. He charged me straight away. I didn't have time to study his movements but that didn't matter. I crouched, he mistook it, he always did. He thought when someone crouched they were bracing for an impact, that they were ready for a fight. Good thing I'm not like everyone else. My feet were planted firmly. When he was close enough I jumped up in the air, straight over the top of him, and I landed on the other side. I didn't hesitate as I grabbed him by the neck and forced him to the ground. I let him go immediately. He huffed and brushed the dirt off himself.

"Just face it, you're never going to win Emmett," I goaded him.

He growled. "Two against one," he suggested.

"Fine," two were no problem. They were easier to beat, especially when they tried to co-ordinate their movements together. It was easy to use them against each other.

"Alice," Emmett called, bad choice there. Alice relies too much on her gift when fighting.

She got off the back steps and joined Emmett's side. The whole family was out the back watching me beat Emmett's ass over and over again. If I was Emmett I would have chosen Rose out of everyone, she's a vicious fighter that girl. She draws from her emotions and she doesn't hold back.

"Easy," I told Emmett as I observed their stances.

Alice was standing behind Emmett, classic. It could mean only one thing. Emmett would attack whilst Alice would look into the future and let Emmett know mid attack what I was going to do. Easy. I wasn't even going to block my decisions, no, I'd let her know what I was planning when I decided.

Emmett geared up. His weight shifted to his right, but lifted momentarily. He was trying to trick me, he was going to go left again. I was right. He faked right and then pushed off his other foot to go left again. Predictable. I crouched again, planning on jumping. I knew Alice would see this decision. She waited until the very last second to let Emmett know.

"Air!" She screamed at him, predictable.

I jumped up but I switched. I pushed myself backwards, doing a back flip, and landing on my feet. I turned back to him he was midair about to come down. He was confused, perfect. I came over to him and as soon as his neck was in arms reach I grabbed it and forced him to the ground. Oh, he was not happy with that and neither was Alice.

"Rematch?" I questioned him.

"That's not fair, I should have won," Emmett huffed. "Alice can see the future."

"No," I corrected him, "Alice only sees what I decide I want her to see. And she was right I did jump, I just changed my mind last minute about what direction I was going."

"That's cheating," Emmett huffed again.

I saw this as my chance to stop for the night and I made my way over to the others.

"You're the one who chose Alice," I reminded him. "I would have went with Rose."

"Rose," he was thinking it through. "Why Rose?"

I smiled at Rosalie, Emmett could be dense sometimes, "Well she does hand your balls to you on a daily basis." I smiled at him.

Oh, he was furious. I wasted no time in running into the house, up the stairs, into the safety of my new bedroom. I was safe. One of Esme's house rules, bedroom's were sacred. I smiled. Emmett couldn't enter.

"Jasper," I heard him toying with me through my closed door. "Oh Jasper."

"Yes, Emmett. Are you ready to admit that I am both stronger and smarter than you yet?"

"No," Emmett's mischievous and confidence grew. "Are you ready to admit that Bella's your mate yet?"

How'd he even know about that.

"She's not my mate," I growled back, feeling overly protective for no reason at all.

"Oh really, so you don't mind if I go and visit her then. I mean you haven't claimed her yet so I can do as I please, you know."

"Emmett," I seethed as I pulled my door open. "You will not go anywhere near her," I growled at him, I was becoming furious. Thinking of all the ways I could kill him.

"I think I will."

I was about to lunge for him when Rosalie beat me to it. She hit him across the back of the head, hard, and dragged him down the hall to their room. Damn Emmett. I focused on calming myself down. I closed my door and sat down at my desk in my library to think.

Why was I reacting so strongly towards Bella? Why did I suddenly want to protect her from everything? Why was I feeling so angry? But the most important question, why was Emmett being an ass? When isn't he an ass, I asked myself, well you had me there. What was my deal with Bella though? Was this whole claiming her thing making me feel more for her then I already did, or was it something else. I didn't believe we were mates. There was one obvious reason there, she wasn't a vampire. I had never heard of a vampire who mated with a human before. Also, I knew that the Major would not take kindly to having a human as a mate. He would not stand for it. He'd probably kill her if it got that far, so it couldn't. No matter how I was feeling about her. I decided to forget everything and read until school came around.

Alice alerted me when it was time to get ready. I always seemed to lose track of time when I was reading. I took a shower. We didn't need to shower unless we got dirty. We didn't smell bad to humans, or other vampires for that matter, but showering calmed me down further. It was like my problems were being washed away down the plug hole. I got out of the shower grabbing Bella's sweatshirt and pulling it straight over my head. I grabbed a new pair of jeans and slid on my old cowboy boots, not feeling ready to break in my new pair just yet. I dried my hair and then I was ready for school.

Nothing was happening at school. Did anything happen here? Bella was in school, no emotions, and our paths hadn't crossed yet. Everything was the same, no changes. I'd have to think of my next course of action to do with Bella. Just sitting here doing nothing, well frankly it sucked.

"Jazz-man," Emmett joined me at our lunch table. I nodded my head at him in response. "So I was thinking," I groaned. Emmett and thinking never went well together. "That seeing as you and Bella aren't mates," I let out a low warning growl, he stiffened slightly. "Well that you could-" He faltered. "What I'm trying to say is that everyone here, in this school, still thinks you're with Alice, so you should, you know, publicly break up with her."

"Why?" I asked him confused. That would gain me nothing.

"For fun. No, seriously, you need to let the ladies of Forks High know you're available," Emmett smirked at me.

"And I repeat, why?" It seemed pointless to me.

"I don't know, for fun," he was smiling at me like an idiot again.

"Just spit it out Emmett," I growled at him. I could tell by his emotions that he wasn't done talking yet.

"If you don't break up with her then Bella will still think you're with her."

"So? I'm not interested in Bella. Do I have to drive that fact into your head?"

"No. Do what you wish."

I tuned him out as Bella had just entered the cafeteria. Head down, emotionless. I stared at the wall to the side of the door and looked at her in my peripheral vision. I was not going to let Emmett know that I was looking at her, not after the little conversation we just had. She went to the food line and didn't grab much at all. I needed to see if she was eating at school or if she spent more time playing with her food, like at home. She sat down at her usual table and not long later Angela joined her. Bella looked up when she sat down, relaxed a little, and then proceeded to stare at her food.

I was still staring at the wall, not Bella, when Emmett kicked the chair out from underneath me. I fell to the floor with a loud crash. That dumbass was laughing his head off. I got up, righted my chair and growled at him. It was only then that I noticed Alice and Rose had joined us, and that everyone was now looking at me. Everyone except Bella.

I took a deep breath and sat down again.

"No, I can see you're not obsessed at all."

"Emmett," I growled.

"Just think about what I said."

I turned my attention back to Bella. I wasn't obsessed, no, I was just overly concerned. Bella was still silent but Angela was talking, about us, to Bella. The others had noticed and were all listening in as well.

"They're the Cullen's and the Hale's. Their foster dad is Doctor Cullen, he's a surgeon and works at Forks hospital. He's married and they have three adopted children. Emmett, he's the big guy with all the muscles. Edward, he hasn't been here since Monday, but he keeps to himself a lot. Then there's Alice, she's the small girl with the short black hair, she seems nice, she's always smiling. Then there's the Hale's. Rosalie, the blonde, she's strong, confident, and beautiful, of course. Her and Jasper, the other blonde one, the one who looks like he's thinking way too much all the time, they're twins. Doctor Cullen's wife's sister's kids, I think."

I felt a small wave of confusion come from Bella when Angela was talking about me and I wondered why that was.

"They all live together. Rosalie and Emmett are dating but they're not related, none of them are, and then there's Alice and Jasper-"

"I can't take it anymore," I stood abruptly, turning my attention to Alice. She seemed shocked, but I think she saw this coming. She wasn't angry at least. "I'm sorry Alice, but I can't," oh god, I should have thought about what I was going to say before I did this. "I just can't-" I faltered again and thankfully Alice saved me.

"Are you breaking up with me?" She asked in mock confusion, somewhat loud so everyone could hear, thank you Alice for playing along.

"Yes," stick to simple one word answers and I should be alright.

"Why?" Alice asked and I could feel her amusement. Great, just great.

I was so tempted to say, it's not you, it's me, but I refrained.

"We've been growing apart for a while now Alice, look into your heart and you'll know this to be true," surely the truth would get me out of this one.

She was silent, shit what was I supposed to do now. I was officially panicking.

"I'm sorry," I stuttered as I left the cafeteria as fast as humanly possible.

Where the hell did that all come from. Damn Emmett for putting the idea in my head. I turned my attention back to the cafeteria, to Angela, as I tried to get as far away as I could.

"Well, I was about to say that Alice and Jasper are together too, but now they're not, I guess. They seemed so perfect for each other, so in love. I can't believe it."

Bella was silent. I sighed. At least everyone knew of our break up now, everyone except Edward. Damn it, I guess he'd find out soon. He was due back from Alaska tomorrow night and I'm assuming Alice will want to tell him straightaway. Hopefully he finds out before I claim Bella, as I don't want to be a part of that conversation otherwise. The bell finally rang and I rushed off to class. Thankfully I avoided everyone for the rest of the school day. The students kept staring at me and I didn't like the feelings of lust I was getting from Lauren and Jessica, and in turn the anger and jealousy coming off Mike when he saw Jessica staring at me during class.

I made my way out to Alice's car and waited for her. Still getting looks from the other students. It was my turn to focus on my shoes now.

"Hey," Alice said as she approached me and I could hear the people around us stop to watch.

"Hey," I responded, still finding the ground more interesting then the world around me.

"By the way just a heads up," Alice said as she unlocked the door and I slid in immediately, "Emmett got our whole break up on camera, on his phone," I groaned, that was not good. "Cheer up," Alice took off, "Everyone gets flustered now and then."

"I'm a vampire, I'm not supposed to get flustered," I let my head drop into my hands. I had no doubt that Emmett had already made several copies of our break up and he would no doubt show them to anyone and everyone. We pulled up to the house and I jumped out of the car, "I'm going to go for a hunt, clear my head. I'll be back."

I headed straight into the forest. I hadn't hunted in a week but it's not like I needed it. The Cullen's were under the impression that I slipped when I was thirsty but that wasn't it. Every time I've slipped up it's been at the Major's hands and he always has his own reasons for doing what he does. I never liked to question him. I'm not sure his reasons would match my own. I hadn't slipped in a decade at least. The Major hadn't made an appearance since then either. I don't remember what happened, I don't want to remember. I just remember waking up near the Cullen's house and heading home. I noted that there was no burn in my throat but I thought nothing of it. It was only when their eyes fell on mine, when I felt their disappointment, shame and guilt. Guilt for not looking out for me, I guess. That I realized what must have happened.

I didn't particularly like hunting animals. The thrill of the chase was definitely the best part. The taste was bearable, just. Human blood was a delicacy. If you got a human who was free from drugs, had no alcohol in their system, and the odd one who had no caffeine either, well it was just pure heaven. The taste was so good. The blood so thick. One drop and the burn in the back of your throat disappeared. Three grizzly bears and you were still feeling the burn. My family believed I didn't hunt humans because I was wracked with guilt. That I couldn't handle the emotions of my victims. None of that was true. Vampires were fast, we could kill or drain a human before they even realized what was happening. I didn't see hunting humans as a bad thing. We were vampires, it was a given that we hunted humans. But I don't.

I don't because I don't want to be him. I don't want to become so detached that killing thousands of people and newborns doesn't bother me, that it is just a way of life. I don't want to serve under anyone. I don't want to be forced to do things just because someone else tells me to. I was afraid that if I gave in, he'd take over and I'd never be able to regain control. I know that the Major is me. I know that he's a part of me. I work so hard every day to keep him locked up because I'm not him. He's cold, he's calculating, and he's selfish. He doesn't care about anyone. Growing up I was so in tune with other people's emotions. I couldn't help but cheer them up when they were sad, calm them down when they were angry, or make them laugh when they hadn't laughed in ages. That was me, I cared, a lot. Maybe too much. The Major doesn't care. I don't like not caring, it goes against everything I am.

So, I hunt animals so that he can't take over. He knows how I feel, and although he doesn't care about anyone, he cares about me. He protects me all the time. He abides by my wishes. He doesn't like snacking on animals but he tolerates it because he knows how important it is to me. I can never fault him because everything he's done has been for me. He is me, but life is easier to separate him into a completely different person, so that's what I do. He is the Major or god of war as he likes to be called. He was more alongside me during the vampire wars then him being separate from me. He allowed me to free Peter and Charlotte when their time was up. He allowed me to leave with them when they came back for me. He took the burden though, he took all the lives on his hands. He spared me from as much of the violence as he could. I was still present when everything happened, but he let me push everything onto him. He allowed me to move on. To not be burdened by my actions. He allowed me to live.

I came across a grizzly bear and was two steps away from taking it down when I remembered Bella's sweatshirt. Damn it. Grizzly bears were messy and I couldn't take the chance. I'm sure Bella wouldn't appreciate the blood. I left the bear and looked for some smaller game. Elk would probably be the largest I could handle without making a mess. I was usually a clean eater, but somehow you always ended up with a drop of blood from somewhere. Elk were good. You could grab them by their antlers and wrench their head away from your body. I closed my eyes and listened. I could hear some deer but I was looking for the elk. Their footsteps were slightly louder. I heard the bear I had left behind me and I tuned it out. And then I heard it.

I took off running. Flying through the forest, my feet barely touching the ground. Dodging and darting skilfully through the trees. I was on top of them in no time. I didn't stop. I didn't allow them to know I was there. Sadly there would be no chase for me today. I pounced on the biggest one out of the lot. I wrapped my legs around it's chest. Wrenched it's head to the side, breaking its neck. I sunk my teething into its neck and rode it to the ground. I stayed on top of it, making sure not to get dirty at all. My teeth pierced through the skin and my mouth flooded with its blood. The taste was tangy, not at all mouth watering, but it was a price I was willing to pay. I drained it slowly, hoping that one would be enough to tide me over for the next few days. I was already planning on tracking down that grizzly again as soon as Bella was safely wearing this sweatshirt.

I felt the life of the elk slip away and the blood came to a stop not long later. I jumped up and surveyed my clothing. Nothing. Not one drop of blood or dirt. I was proud of myself. I left the carcass where it lay. No one would venture this far into the forest and if they did they'd just assume a grizzly killed it . I headed back to the house. Just walking. Trying not to think of Emmett and the fact that both Carlisle and Esme had most likely seen the video by now. I mean, we were vampires. We remembered everything. We were able to look back on something and remember every detail clearly. We didn't need the video evidence of anything, we were the video. But of course Emmett wouldn't see it that way. No. He'd want to show it to anyone and everyone he got in contact with. Peter. Oh no, I had to destroy that video. There was no way Peter was ever going to see it, I'd never live it down.

I saw the house in the distance, but I had no desire to speed up. I finally made it to the yard and I could hear Emmett laughing, not good. I made it into the house and everyone's eyes were suddenly on me. "What?" I asked them as I stopped. I may as well get this over and done with.

"Public breakups can be tough son," came Carlisle's reply. Amusement coursing through him wildly. "Are you okay?"

"Alright, alright," I told them, "Laugh it up. It's Emmett's fault anyway, he's the one who suggested I publicly break up with her."

"Don't push this onto me," Emmett smiled at me.

Why didn't the Major save me earlier today. He would have had an answer for everything, he would have came out on top. Yet here I was having to deal with all this... amusement. Seriously don't these people have lives. I swear the Major was in the back of my head smiling. Stupid vampire, what's the point of having him anyway? I guess he didn't see a little bit of embarrassment as something I couldn't bounce back from. "I'll be in my room," I finally said. I was barely out of the room before they all started laughing at me. I was so glad that Edward wasn't here to see this.

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><p><strong>AN- **This chapter was going to include the school day tomorrow as well but it's already long and it'd probably end up being twice as long if I wrote it, so I'll leave it for the next chapter. So it will be two (maybe three) chapters until Jasper claims Bella.

So review if you can, you'll noticed that I update slower if I don't get many reviews, less drive. So yeah, it's up to you if you wish to take the time to review though, I can't force you.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N- **A big thank you to all who reviewed, much appreciated.

Enjoy

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><p>I had spent the whole night trying to come up with something, anything, that could help Bella. Something that would give her an extra push towards getting better. Something simple. I was drawing a blank. I knew there must be something obvious I was missing but I had no idea.<p>

"Rose?" I called out. She had been through a traumatic experience before, as had Esme, so surely she'd know something I could do.

"Yes," Rose entered my room.

I stood up from my desk and made my way over to her.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she replied her curiosity spiking.

"I've been trying to come up with something that I can do for Bella, but I can't think of anything. I was wondering if you would help me. If you had any ideas of things that I could do."

"Well," she began, "I know you like to come up with these things on your own so let me just tell you something and you can do what you want with it, okay?"

"Sure," hopefully I could figure something out from what she was going to tell me.

"As you know after I was attacked I was changed straightaway. When I realized everything I sought revenge. It was a temporary reprieve from everything I was feeling. Killing them all did nothing. It wasn't a cure all." She paused. "It took a long time. I didn't feel as though I could talk to anyone until Emmett came along. He was my rock. I was able to tell him things, express my feelings and thoughts. Having that safe outlet allowed me to finally begin to slowly let go of everything, and in turn, it allowed me to finally begin to heal."

"So, Bella needs someone to talk to?" I tried to clarify.

"Not necessarily, Bella needs something that will help her express her thoughts and feelings."

An idea was already forming. "Thanks Rose, I think I have it."

"Anytime Jasper," she left my room and I immediately went over to my bookshelves.

I grabbed out a blank, a4 sized, journal. I used journals as a way to put my thoughts into words. It helped me deal with a lot of things I had trouble with. I couldn't believe I didn't think of it, thankfully Rose's speech reminded me. I'd give Bella this blank journal. She could write or even draw in it, whatever she pleased, and hopefully she'd be able to use it to help her heal. For her to finally get things out of her head and onto paper, without having to talk to someone, would be a good thing.

I grabbed a pencil and turned to the first page. I wrote 'Bella Swan' as neatly as I could on the page and shaded it in. I added a few lines interconnecting, going around the bottom right hand corner and shaded them in as well. It looked good. I wanted her to know that it was hers and no one else's. I wrote neatly under the graphic on the corner, J.R. Whitlock. I didn't know if she had seen my name on the mural on her wall. It wasn't that big but she did spend a lot of time looking at it. Either way I wanted her to know that this was from the same person, me.

I gathered some pencils, all different lead sizes, in case she wanted to sketch. I also grabbed two of my expensive pens, one black and one blue, in case she wished to write. Now I just needed something to hold the pens together with. A ribbon perhaps. "Esme?" I called out.

"Yes," she responded from the living room where I could hear Emmett playing the Xbox.

"Do you have any ribbon?" I was sure she did. Esme was a compulsive hoarder. She hoarded crap we never needed. No one brought it up though because she always became so defensive. Carlisle lost a finger once for two months as a result of this.

"Yes. What color? What size?" Oh geez.

"I don't know, are they in a box? Bring the box up here," I was suddenly thankful Esme was a hoarder, where else would I get ribbon from at five am.

She was in my room a minute later, box in hand. "What's this for?" She asked as she approached my desk and sat the box down.

"Bella," I replied. "I'm giving her this journal and some pens and pencils. I need the ribbon to keep the pencils together."

"May I have a look," I handed her the journal. She ran her fingers over the well worn brown leather. I think I got it in London. I bought a bunch of them ages ago knowing that I'd use them eventually. She flipped to the front page and her fingers flittered over my writing. "It's perfect," she muttered. I smiled. I was glad Esme approved. "Now as for the ribbon, how about we layer navy blue with gold?"

"Sure," I replied. I had no idea.

"Do you want to tie it?" Esme asked. God, I'd probably screw it up. I wasn't good with fiddly things.

"You do it," I handed her the pens and pencils and looked on amazed as she tied a fancy looking bow. It looked perfect. "Thanks Esme." I took the bundle off her carefully, trying not to ruin the bow, and sat them on top of the journal.

"No problem Jasper," she headed for the door but turned back last minute, "I used to write in a journal by the way, it helped me a lot." She smiled at me, pride coming from her. I smiled back and sent her my love and gratitude. "I love you too," she responded and left me be.

I looked at the journal on my desk. I really hoped Bella would like it, and furthermore that she would make good use of it. Now I just had to wait for school to come around. I figured that it would be easier, and hopefully slightly less creepy, if I put the journal in Bella's locker instead of her room. No need to let her think that I constantly invaded her personal space. I sat down at my desk and grabbed a book.

The two hours flew by. I grabbed Bella's journal and pencils, and made my way down the stairs. I was early but it would be easier to break into Bella's locker if there was no one around. I reached the living room. Emmett was still playing video games. Esme was knitting in the chair to the side of him. Rose was, out. I couldn't sense her in the house anymore. And Alice was in her closet, reorganizing her clothes it seemed.

"Anyone want to give me a lift to school?" I asked and was met with a chorus of no's. Great, just great. Stupid driving ban.

"I'll take you Jasper," Esme spoke. Excitement and longing coming from her.

"Great, getting driven to school by my mom, how lame," I smiled at her to let her know I was only joking. "Okay, let's go." Seriously though, I couldn't wait for these three months to pass.

The drive to school was pleasant. I was just sitting back reveling in Esme's calm and loving emotional makeup. It was refreshing. We didn't talk, we didn't need to. She pulled up to the school.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" She asked me, "It's early."

"No, that's okay," the time would pass quick enough, "Thanks for the ride though."

"Anytime Jasper," I got out of the car and waved her off.

I made my way into the school. Bella's locker. I'd have to find it. I entered the corridor that housed all the lockers and I took a deep breath. Attempting to pick up her scent. I finally got a taste of it and I followed it until I was standing in front of a locker which smelled entirely of Bella. I spun the lock and waited for it to click, 23-9-18, thank you vampire hearing. The lock clicked open and I opened the door. I was immediately met with Bella's scent. It was nice. Not overpowering. Not so mouthwatering that I wanted to kill her. No. She just smelt good.

I saw the reason for the smell, she had left her jacket in there. I moved her jacket to the left slightly and sat the journal, with the pens- bow still tied neatly, right on top. If she used her locker, which it seemed as though she did, then she would see it clearly. I made sure it was sitting safely before I shut the locker door, re-locking the lock. Bella would never know, except for the fact that I left something in there. I made my way straight to my first class and slid down next to the door. Now I just had to wait for school to start.

School was now completely underway. Boring, as ever. The bell to lunch rang and I made it all but two steps out of the classroom door before I was cornered by Jessica and Lauren, their lust ever present.

"Jasper," Lauren tried to purr my name, she failed.

"Yes," I replied trying to find my escape route.

"So, you're single now?" Lauren.

"So it seems," I felt a little confusion from her but she pushed it away.

"Are you dating yet? Or is it too soon?"

"I'd say it's too soon," hopefully this would deter her, or not. "Alice and I just broke up yesterday," I explained, "We had been together for two years, you just don't forget that."

"We don't have to date, we can just hookup," Lauren.

"No, thank you," surely I could just leave right? It's not like they'd suspect I was a vampire, just a jerk.

"Why do you keep on wearing that sweatshirt?" Jessica asked me confused.

"Because I like green," I was starting to wonder if any of the humans had noticed my lack of change in clothes, clearly Jessica had.

"Hmm," came her indignant reply.

"So, Jasper," Lauren said as she placed her hand on my chest and ran it down slowly. Oh hell no.

"Look at that," I interrupted her as I pointed behind them. I didn't wait, as soon as they turned around I ran and took refuge behind the first open locker door I could.

I leant back against the lockers praying that they couldn't see me. How could I let myself get cornered like that? Stupid human lust filled girls. Stupid Emmett. The locker I was hiding behind moved their door slightly. I hoped like hell Jessica and Lauren weren't still looking for me. I was pleasantly surprised when Bella's face came into view and she looked at me. I relaxed instantly. We were literally two feet from each other, not speaking, just staring.

"Sorry about that," I spoke. "They came out of nowhere, claws out. I hope you don't mind me hiding behind your locker."

She smiled at me, or simply at my predicament. I sure was getting myself into stupid situations these days. But that didn't matter, she was in front of me, Bella was, smiling at me. I couldn't even explain how happy I was. I was probably smiling like a fool back at her, she didn't seem to care. I was surprised by how much her face changed, how much her face lit up just because she was smiling. She was beautiful. And then she spoke. It was raspy and nearly inaudible but I heard it, one simple word, "No," and it gave me hope.

Her smile dropped, but I didn't care.

"Are they gone?" I asked her hoping that she would answer.

Her head disappeared behind her locker for a moment before reappearing. "Yes," came her shaky one word reply.

I smiled widely at her. "Thank you," I told her before rushing off.

No need to stay and make things more uncomfortable. No. I was happy with this progress. Whether she felt the need to talk to me just so she didn't come across as an emotionally damaged idiot, I didn't care. It was a step in the right direction and I was so happy.

"What are you smiling at idiot?" Emmett asked me as I sat down at the lunch table.

"Oh, nothing," even Emmett wouldn't be able to kill my happy mood now.

Lunch was uneventful. I hadn't pretended to eat lunch all week. I was using my Edward free time wisely. The others still had their trays of food and were pushing their food around. I was so glad I didn't have to pretend, but today was my last day. It was Friday and Edward would be returning home tonight. Edward. Hopefully everything would go off without a hitch and I could keep him away from Bella.

Bella. I glanced up at her. She was pushing her food around just like the rest of my family. Angela was talking to her like usual. I was about to look away when Bella looked up and met my eyes. I just stared at her, I didn't know what I was supposed to do. She wasn't doing anything, just staring. I tested her emotions. She was confused again, why did I confused her?

"Jazzie has a girlfriend," Emmett, damn him.

I reluctantly tore my gaze from Bella, "Shut up," I replied.

"Did you see that," Emmett gushed, "They were making gooey eyes at each other, how sweet."

"Emmett," I warned just as my phone rang, unlisted. "You're lucky Emmett." I stood, answered my phone, and made my way outside. "Jasper Whitlock."

"Jasper, it's Charlie," he seemed worried.

"Charlie? How'd you get this number?" I asked him confused.

"Well I do have resources as a police officer, but I called your father at the hospital and he gave it to me. I hope you don't mind."

"No, it's okay." He still seemed worried and possibly anxious. I didn't know his emotional makeup well enough to get a read on him from this far away. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you. Can you come by the station after school," I paused. What did he have to talk to me about? What had him so worried? "It's about Bella," he added when I took too long to respond.

"Sure Charlie, I'll be there." I hung up the phone before we attempted the awkward goodbye.

So, he wanted to talk to me about Bella. What about Bella? She seemed to be doing good today. Great in fact. She smiled, and she even talked, to me. I remembered back. Voice of an angel. Oh god, I was turning into a sap. Maybe the Major needed to break free soon, put me back in my place. No. I stopped that thought immediately. Thankfully the bell rang and I went off to the second last class of the day.

School finished in a blur. I tried desperately not to think about why Charlie wanted to talk to me, or what it was going to be about. I'd be there soon enough. The bell rang and I left the school straightaway. I ran to the forest and took a shortcut to the station through the trees. I was anxious to see what Charlie wanted. I came out of the trees, behind the station, and I walked around the front slowly. I made my way inside and went straight over to Charlie's desk. I sat down without him even noticing I was there.

"You're here quick," whoops, I didn't think of the time.

"Yeah, my sister drove me," I didn't like lying to him, but somehow I didn't think he'd believe me if I told him that I ran.

I took notice of his emotions, yes, he was definitely feeling worried. I was so tempted to ask what was wrong, but I held my tongue.

"How was school?" Ah, classic deflection there Charlie. I'd play along for a little while.

"Fine. I'm learning lots," another lie.

"And Bella?" Right I was supposed to be looking out for her, which I had been.

"Good. Angela Weber sits with her at lunch. I have no classes with her but from what I can see everyone else leaves her alone."

"Angela?" Charlie questioned out loud.

I couldn't take it anymore, I needed to move this along, "Is that what you wanted to ask me?"

"What?" Charlie snapped out of his thoughts, "No. I need to ask you a favor of sorts, well not really a favor," I sent Charlie a small dose of calm and clarity. "I've been keeping a close eye on Bella since I got her back three weeks ago and something is wrong. I don't know what to do. I don't mean to put this all on you Jasper, but I have no one else to ask. And I thought that maybe you'd have some insight on the matter."

"Okay," I accepted, "Explain the situation to me Charlie."

"Bella hardly eats and I can't work out why. Sometimes I think, and I know this will sound crazy, but sometimes I think she's eating when I'm not home. Meat goes missing from the freezer and she must clean up after herself as there's never any dishes or mess. I wouldn't have even known except I started keeping track the past week and it's definitely going missing. Fish, steaks, basically any meat. I know it mightn't be a big deal, but she doesn't seem to eat much at all and I can't work out why she would eat behind my back, it just makes no sense. I just wish I knew what was going on so that I could help her."

"Charlie," I said as I placed my hand on his forearm and sent him some calm, he appeared to be on the edge of a breakdown. "Leave it with me, okay, I'll think about it and see what I can come up with. Try not to worry about it, okay, let me worry about it for you."

"I can't do that Jasper, I can't put it all on you."

"Yes, you can," I told him sternly, "Leave it with me for the weekend and I'll have an answer for you on Monday. I'm good at working things out, just trust me, okay?"

"I do trust you," I could feel that he did, "I don't know why, but I do."

"Good, I'll get back to you," I stood up. "And Charlie?"

"Yeah."

"Take the weekend off, spend it with Bella. She seemed to enjoy your trip to Seattle, try and do something she might like."

"Okay, kid," he said gruffly, "Get out of here. Oh and Jasper."

"Yeah."

"I don't know if you need any incentive to help me, but there is such a thing as good behavior," he smiled at me.

Was that Charlie's way of telling me that if I came through with something useful then he'd give me my license back, oh I hoped so.

"I'll keep that in mind," I left the station and walked around the back to the forest. As soon as I hit the trees, I ran.

Bella's diet. There was one obvious way to find the answer to this, I needed to find out what she ate for the past two years, and for that to happen I had to make a trip to Phoenix. I needed to find out where she was kept. Research as much as I could on her kidnapper. Try and find out as much as I could about what Bella had been through the past two years. Charlie's answers should lie in what I'd hopefully be able to uncover.

"Road trip," I announced as soon as I stepped in the door of the house. "Who's coming?"

"Me," Emmett exclaimed from in front of the TV.

"Where are we going?" Rose asked.

"Phoenix. We're going to dig up some more information on Bella, find out where she was held hostage, all that."

"I'm in," Rose. I smiled at her.

"I want to help Bella too," Esme.

"If Esme goes, I go," Carlisle.

"Edward's coming home tonight," Alice reminded everyone as she came down the stairs. "We can't all go."

It would be so funny if Edward came home to an empty house after his time away, but even I'd admit that was a bit cruel. He'd probably think we were all dead or something dramatic like that.

"I guess we're staying then," Esme said sadly.

"Alice are you coming?" I asked her and she closed her eyes. Damn visions. I grabbed her by the arms and she opened her eyes. "Alice no visions," I said seriously, "Answer me this, do you want to come with us?"

"Yes," she answered weakly, "But-"

"No buts, you want to come, so you're coming. Screw the future, nothing bad will happen."

She paused. "Okay, I'll do it."

She still wasn't convinced but I could tell she was willing to try.

"I'm not saying you can't look into the future, but you want to come so you're coming with us."

"Okay," good, she was excited now.

"Now everyone go pack, I want to leave as soon as possible as we're driving. Make sure you pack enough for the weekend just in case."

"How long do I have?" Alice asked me frantically.

"Calm down," I sent her some calm, "Just go pack."

I was midway through packing when Emmett spoke, "Hey, you only asked us to come because you're banned from driving," I let out a small laugh, he had me there.

"Maybe," I replied, "But I am allowing you all to come and not just taking Rose with me, so count yourself lucky."

We we're all packed and waiting in the foyer. Alice took the longest but not that long. She did have three suitcases though, crazy. We were saying our goodbyes to Carlisle and Esme.

"Be safe," Esme pulled us all into a hug.

"Call us if you need anything at all," Carlisle. He hugged the girls, Emmett and I got handshakes.

"Make sure you look after Edward," Alice was concerned.

"Just tell him we're on a hunting trip," I told them, "I'll have to explain some things to him when we get back."

We all headed out to Carlisle's Mercedes as it was heavily tinted and should keep us protected from the sun in Phoenix. Both Carlisle and Esme were feeling sad, understandable. Esme had a bit of envy too, I understood that she wanted to come with us to be able to help Bella in her recovery more actively.

"We'll be back," I told them as we all got in the car. Emmett and I in the front, Rose and Alice in the back. "Carlisle," I said as I rolled down my window, "You have the weekend to work everything out, I hope to see that you've decided when I get back."

He nodded at me, but everyone was giving off confusion. It didn't matter though, both Carlisle and I knew that we were talking about his emotional shift since Edward had left, and I prayed that he would end up choosing his happiness over Edward, but I'd see when I got back.

"Let's go," I told Emmett as I put my window back up.

"Phoenix, Arizona! Here I come," Emmett, the idiot.

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><p><strong>AN- **Review and tell me what you thought


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N- **Sorry it took so long I had a kind of writers block, well not writers block, more like I couldn't be bothered, haha, but I promised myself I'd get it done tonight and I did.

It's 12:50 am right now by the way, a tad late for me to be doing all this :) So be kind and review if you remember.

Thank you to all of you who reviewed, I really appreciated them all.

Enjoy

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><p>"What have you found?" I asked Rose and Alice.<p>

We were nearing Phoenix and we had spent a lot of the drive researching everything we could about Bella's disappearance, but there wasn't much at all it seemed.

"Same as we already know," Alice answered. "Bella's mother, Renée Dwyer, was found tortured and killed in her home. No sign of her daughter Isabella Swan. Phil Dwyer, Renée's husband, was away in Florida playing minor league baseball, never was a suspect. Police searched for Bella solidly for two months but no leads arose and they had nothing to go on so they dropped the case to part-time. Chief Swan came down to Phoenix straightaway and never left, except for a few weekends when they forced him away. Bella was found walking around, clearly disorientated, nearly exactly two years later. She was picked up and brought to the station. She was in good health, except it appeared that she hadn't had anything to eat or drink in several days. Bella never spoke about what happened, so once again the police had no leads. They let Charlie take her home with him to Washington three weeks ago."

"It's not much to go on," Rose said.

"I know," I agreed. "I still don't understand how they connected this, James Hunter, as a suspect, unless it's something that was kept out of the press."

"What did you find on him?" Rose asked.

"Not much. Born James Hunter, in Phoenix. Went missing when he was 24 and was never heard from again, until they identified him by his teeth after a tanker rolled onto his car and exploded. That would make him in his mid to late sixties when he held Bella captive, if he did. Have you had any visions of Bella at all?" I asked Alice.

"No, the first one I ever had was when Bella had been found and Charlie had decided to bring her back to Forks. I've got nothing before that."

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Emmett asked and I noticed that we had entered Phoenix.

"We hit the police station," I told him and he nodded his head. "We need to find out everything they know, including where Bella was picked up from. Then we'll head out there and see if we can find where she was being kept."

We arrived at the police station and Emmett pulled into the shade. "So what's the plan?" He asked me.

"I'll go in there, tell them I'm from the FBI and see what I can dig up," I told him simply.

"How are you going to pull that off?" He asked me confused.

"Easy. I got Jenks to make me an FBI badge with all the identification that I need. It will be a piece of cake."

"Do you want us to wait here?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, this won't take long."

I left the vehicle, thankful for the shade. The only problem I had with this whole FBI plan was my clothing. I was still wearing Bella's sweatshirt, not exactly FBI attire, but I may be able to convince them that I'm undercover. I made my way into the station and approached the front desk.

"Jackson Monroe, FBI," I showed the guy my badge.

"Sure, what can I do for you?" He eyed me suspiciously.

"Isabella Swan's case, I've been assigned to it. Who do I talk to?"

"Chief Harris, follow me."

The deputy knocked on Chief Harris' door.

"What?" Came his reply.

The deputy opened the door up. "I've got a guy here, says his FBI, he's asking about Isabella Swan's case."

"Alright," the Chief said as he waved the deputy off. I made my way in and sat down. "You're FBI," he wasn't convinced. "You look young."

"Star student," I answered, "Flew my way through the ranks of the academy."

"Right?" He still wasn't convinced. "What are you doing here? This case shouldn't be on the FBI's radar."

"I don't know, I was just assigned the case, I didn't ask why."

"Can I call your supervisor?" Yeah, he didn't trust me at all.

"Sure," I said as I rattled off the number to Emmett's cell. "Emmett," I spoke softly so the guy wouldn't hear me. "Director Lancaster," I told both the Chief and Emmett at the same time.

"Director Sid Lancaster," Emmett said as he answered the phone. Good, this may work out for me yet.

"Hi, it's Chief Harris here from Phoenix, I have a guy here, says he's yours, umm."

"Jackson Monroe," I told the Chief pulling out my badge and showing him.

"Right, a Jackson Monroe, do you know him?"

"Yes," Emmett responded not missing a beat, "I put him on Isabella Swan's case, I hope he's not slacking off."

"No sir, I just wanted to confirm who he was, see if he was legit."

"Yeah, he's good," Emmett hung up the phone before the conversation could continue.

"So?" I questioned the Chief.

"You check out," he frowned, "What can I do for you?"

"I need to look at any files you have on Isabella Swan, I also need to talk to the officer who picked her up, and I need to know how you made the connection between Isabella's disappearance and James Hunter."

"Okay, well I can answer your last question as I take you to the records room," I stood up from the chair and followed the chief out into the station. "We had no suspects for Bella's case, none at all. The officer who picked Bella up, Perkins, well he said that she was muttering the name James over and over again. Now naturally we wouldn't think much of it. There's got to be hundreds if not thousands of James' in Phoenix, but there was that nasty crash on the highway. Killed a guy called James Hunter who had been a missing person for forty years. It seemed odd to us that this James had been killed, and that Bella hadn't eaten in roughly the same time since he died. Basically we had nothing to lose. We had gathered fingerprints from Bella's home in Phoenix and we had initially ran them through our database when she went missing but we came up with nothing. With this new information we ran the prints through the missing person's database and we got a match, a James Hunter, killed three days earlier."

"And that's it?" I asked him confused, it seemed somewhat unlikely and extremely lucky of them.

"Yes. We found some unusual DNA also at Renée Dwyer's house, we've sent off a sample of James Hunter's tooth and a few bone fragments that were left over from the crash and we're hoping that they match. We should get the results in a couple of weeks. Here's records, Stacy hook Mr. Monroe here up with the case files for Isabella Swan."

"Thank you," I told him.

"Perkins is out in the station, just call for him when you're ready, he should be able to answer any questions you have about finding Bella."

"Will do," and then I was left alone, Stacy had disappeared behind a shelf to retrieve the files.

"Here," Stacy appeared a few minutes later.

"Do you mind?" I asked as I motioned to her desk.

"No," she blushed, lust rolling off her. "I was just about to go on break, it's all yours."

"Thank you," I smiled at her.

I opened the files as soon as she left. Focusing on everything that I didn't already know. Renée's injuries. No sign of rape, good news, hopefully Bella fared well in that aspect too. Broken bones. A few scratches. Blow to the head. All in all a pretty standard killing. It was noted that she appeared to be tortured, that her injuries had happened over a few hours whilst the assailant waited for Bella to get home from School. Also written in the notes, it was suspected that Renée was still alive when Bella got home, that the suspect left with Bella, leaving Renée alive, but he came back later and killed her. Probably using Bella's mother's life to keep her in line. She would have believed that she was keeping her mother alive by doing what James said. Which means she must have found out about her mother's death when she was found. Two years thinking that her mother was alive only to find out that she had been dead the whole time, poor Bella.

I sighed. I had only just started, yet it was already giving me some great insight into why Bella was as damaged as she was. She definitely had it tough. I looked through the rest of the information, most of it just detailed what we already knew. Phil Dwyer's alibi was solid, so no connection at all. And then there was nothing. No leads were listed at all. It was like Bella just disappeared off the face of the earth. I was proud of Charlie then, no leads, yet he never gave up. It said a lot about him. Most would want to give up just so that they could move on with their life, especially with no leads, but not Charlie. Nothing until Bella was found. She was reported walking along Burbank Road and officer Perkins was sent out to check on a strange, possibly intoxicated girl staggering along the side of the road. He picked her up, heard her muttering about James, brought her back here. Fairly standard. I'd have to ask him for more details.

I looked through the files again, memorizing everything, even if it didn't seem important. This way I could recall the information later if need be. I got up from the desk and made my way out. "Perkins?" I called out and an officer stood up. "I have some questions for you."

"Sure," he answered as he led me to an interrogation room. "What can I do for you?"

"I've been assigned Isabella Swan's case, tell me everything you remember that day about picking her up."

"Right. I got the call about a possible drunk girl. I approached her carefully and I noticed that it was Isabella straightaway. Chief Swan had been down at the station nonstop looking for her, so I didn't even question it. I got out of the cruiser and approached her. I called her name and she immediately corrected me by saying 'Bella'. She didn't stop though, she kept walking. I radioed it in, that I had found Bella, and they told me to bring her in no matter what. I approached her again, asked her if she wanted to come with me. She stopped and looked at me, really looked at me, and then she kept on walking. It wasn't until I mentioned the promise of food that she turned around and got into my car. We made it back to the station and I put her in this interrogation room. Stacy, from records, came and sat with her so she wouldn't be alone, whilst Chief Harris called Chief Swan to come down to the station. I left her and went to the nearest burger place. Got her a burger, fries, and a milkshake. She seemed to stick her nose up at the food for a moment, but then she dug right in. She ate it all."

"Chief Swan arrived at the station, we could hear him through the open door. Bella turned her head towards the door. She softly whispered, 'Charlie,' before standing up and looking out that window there. She repeated his name again, clearly seeing that it was him. Their eyes met across the station and she seemed to relax. She made her way to the door and just stood there. After a while she sunk to her knees and began crying. Chief Swan came over and brought her into his arms. She asked about her mother and Charlie told her the truth. And then she asked how long it had been, Charlie hesitated, but he told her the truth, and she just shut down. He sat down with her in the chair there. We told him about James Hunter, all that, and then he asked to leave. The Chief let him leave as the only suspect we had was dead. They wanted Bella to be with Charlie, in a place far away from here, somewhere she'd feel safe. And that's it."

"Okay, thank you. Just one more thing. Where exactly did you find Bella? Which direction was she walking? And what was the exact time?"

"It was 4:23 in the afternoon. Bella was walking East along Burbank Road. I picked her up right before the corner of Burbank Road and Harders Street."

"Did anyone search the area, see if they could find out where she was being kept?"

"We searched, but we found nothing. We had no idea how long she had been walking for, but we canvassed the surrounding neighborhoods and came up with nothing."

"Thank you for your time," I told the officer as I stood up. I think I had gained as much information as I was going to from here.

"No problem," I left before him, or anyone else, could question me about the case or why I was assigned to it.

I made it outside and over to the car.

"Corner of Burbank Road and Harders Street," I told Emmett as soon as I was in the car. He immediately took off.

"We heard most of it," Rose spoke, "But what did you find out?"

"It appears James Hunter is the guy. Fingerprints confirm he was in Renée's house, they've sent off DNA samples to further confirm this. James was killed in a car crash as we know, only teeth and bone fragments were left. Renée didn't appear to be sexually abused, so we can hope that Bella wasn't as well, but we don't know for sure. I think that's about it. Now we head to where Bella was found and we try and backtrack her steps. See if we can find out where she was kept. Then we'll go from there."

"We're here," Emmett said as he pulled over to the curb.

"The sun's too bright," I announced, "We can't get out."

"Here," Alice said as she handed me the sunglasses she made me buy on our shopping trip. "Put them on. Pull the hood of Bella's sweatshirt over your head and shove your hands into the pockets. You will be covered up enough not to sparkle, just keep your head down."

Ah, "Thank you Alice," she always thought of everything. I pulled up my hood and slid the sunglasses on. "I want you guys to drive around, look for any places you think might be, I don't know, places that look like you could hide someone in." I was kind of out of my element here, but I think they got the gist. I pulled the hood down to cover as much of my face as I could and I got out of the car.

It felt good to be in the sun, it reminded me of home, and it was warming me up instantly. Emmett drove off and I immediately smelled the air. Bella was standing right here three weeks ago, but as predicted her scent had completely faded. The only chance we'd have would be to find where she was kept. We'd definitely be able to pick up her scent as she was most likely kept at the same place for the past two years. Now I just had to figure out where she came from. I was not an excellent tracker but I could hold my own. I used common sense when tracking rather than having a gift for it. Common sense, right. I needed that right now. Okay, I had to focus. Perkins said Bella was heading East, so I needed to head West to begin with, that was slightly up hill. I began walking.

I walked a couple of blocks before I realized that I needed way more information to go on then going the opposite way to which Bella was seen heading. I stopped. No need to wander around aimlessly. I checked my watch, 3:30 pm right now, Bella was found nearly an hour later, near this exact spot. What would she have been thinking? What would she have been feeling? Geez, where's a tracker when you need one? Right, focus. It's just me. I'm sure the Major would know some shit, some shit. Peter, right, he always knew shit. And now, as if on cue, the fucker called me.

"Peter," I answered straight away.

"Hey fucker," came his always colorful reply, "Your life sure has got a hell of a lot more interesting lately."

"You're telling me," I liked talking to Peter, it was always refreshing, he never censored himself or held back and it allowed me to do the same when I talked to him.

"Glad to see you ditched the pixie. I'll hand it to her though, perfect timing to give you up, just amazing."

"Peter, focus. I'm sure you didn't call me to catch up."

"Maybe I did, stop being a jerk Jasper."

"A jerk, seriously?" I questioned him.

"Sure. We haven't talked in ages, so please forgive me if I want to annoy you with mindless chitchat."

"Okay. So, you gonna tell me your thoughts on Bella and what's going on?"

"Oh hell no," I could tell he was smiling, figures he'd tell me nothing. "You've got to figure that shit out on your own."

"So tell me what I need to know then. I'm in the sun, the sooner I can get out of it the better."

"You just answered your own question there," I was confused. "The sun you idiot. Bella was locked up for two years," I was still confused, Peter sighed, "And you call yourself the Major, you've sure become dense lately," I growled. "Okay, settle down, the sun would have blinded her, she wasn't used to the light. You head towards the sun. Turn left right now, then right for two blocks, then left. That's all I'm giving you, you'll smell her by then."

"Thank you Peter, pleasant as always, give Charlotte my love," I hung up the phone.

The sun, obviously. Was Bella making me stupid? No, it's your inability to think of anything but her. She did seem to consume my mind 24/7 for no reason at all. Okay so left, I headed down the street to my left. Damn fucker didn't tell me how far to go. I headed one block and then turned right, still heading towards the sun. Down two blocks, another left. Right, now he said that I should be able to smell her. I sniffed the air, nothing. I kept on walking down the street, keeping an eye out for a street sign in case this was the street so I could tell Emmett. I hit a crossroad, great. I was currently on Plum, being intersected by Albert. Now what? I sniffed the air again, nothing. Right Peter, I'd be able to smell her, I smelt nothing. I looked down the end of the road, it was a dead end. That seemed like a good place as any to stash a girl for two years. I kept on heading down Plum until I was at the end. Desert spanned out in front of me. I sniffed the air again. Bella. To the right.

I turned my body towards her scent. There, at the end of the street. The most rundown house of the lot. Bella's scent was definitely surrounding this house. I approached cautiously as I pulled out my phone and dialed Emmett. "Yeah I've found it, it's at the end of Plum street. I'll meet you out the front." I hung up the phone. I didn't want to go in by myself, I don't know why. I think I was afraid of what I might find. I just... felt safer with my family by my side. I headed over to the letterbox whilst I waited and checked it. There were a few letters inside, mainly junk mail, all addressed to a, Victoria Burns, hmm. Maybe this Victoria was related to James or something. Definitely something I'd need to look into. Though James could have simply killed her so that he could use her house. Either way it was another step forward. I tested the area to see if there was anyone in the house, I couldn't sense anything, so that was a good sign that it had been abandoned since Bella escaped.

"Hey man," Emmett said as he pulled the Mercedes into the driveway under a carport, smart. I made my way over to the shade. As soon as I was in the shade I pulled my hood off and took off my sunglasses. "It sure does smell like Bella," he had that right, Bella's scent was seeping from this house.

"Find out anything new?" Alice asked me.

"Only this," I said as I showed them the mail. "Mail's addressed to a Victoria Burns."

"You haven't been in yet then?" Rose asked me and I shook my head.

"Thought we could do it together, you know. We don't know what we're walking in on."

"You need to take Bella's sweatshirt off," Alice told me and I looked at her confused, what happened to never taking it off? "We don't need it smelling anything like this house. I don't think Bella would appreciate that."

She was right, as always. Bella could have a relapse if she smelt something that reminded her of this place. I pulled off the sweatshirt and put it safely in the Mercedes.

"Let's do it then," Emmett announced. He was excited. He was probably just glad to finally be out of the car.

"Okay," I just stood there. I was afraid of what I would find. Afraid that I would find nothing.

"You want us to go in first?" Rose was at my side.

"Umm, maybe I should go in first?" It came out as a question. "Yeah, let me go in first."

I just had to know. I felt Rose squeeze my hand and I borrowed some of her strength. I left the others behind me and went through the slightly ajar back door. I was immediately hit by Bella's scent. It seemed to be coming from below. I looked around. The house was beyond dusty. No one had lived here for a long time, way longer than three weeks. I began moving around. I made it to the kitchen, it too was dusty. There were traces of blood on the table. I sniffed, animal blood. There was a door wide open and Bella's scent was coming from it. The basement. I approached the door slowly. I stopped at the top of the stairs and I looked down. There appeared to be a light on downstairs.

I steeled myself and took a deep breath, I had to do this, for Bella. I walked down the stairs slowly, holding my breath. I didn't want to smell anything, not yet. I made it to the bottom of the stairs and my eyes adjusted immediately. I was thankful to see that it was fairly clean down here, hardly any dust present. There was a bed, the sheets looked clean. A cupboard, even a bookshelf filled with books. It definitely wasn't as bad as I was suspecting. I let go and took a deep breath. I was immediately filled with Bella's scent, but there was something else too. The smell of animal blood, like upstairs in the kitchen. There was a smell of dead animals too, almost overpowering Bella's scent. I spun around. There in the corner, the source of the smell. Three coyotes, dead, decomposing, in the corner.

That made no sense, "Guys," I called for the others and they joined me straightaway. "Look," I pointed to the coyotes.

"What do you think?" Alice asked concerned.

"I know what I'm thinking, but I don't want to think it," I told them honestly, I didn't even want to think about it at all, it couldn't be right.

Emmett approached the coyotes, he crouched down, "I think you're right."

Surely not.

"Why would he- How do you- This doesn't make sense," It really didn't, but then again everything fitted with how Bella has been acting. "Why would he feed her coyote meat?" It hurt to even put it into words. "Why wouldn't he just feed her normal food?"

"Are we sure that's what's happened?" Alice asked.

"There's," Emmett paused, "Ah, there's teeth marks on the bone over here. I can't tell if it's Bella who gnawed on these or James. Maybe it was James," we both knew that probably wasn't the case.

"Do you think this is all she ate?" I questioned out loud, already knowing the answer. The kitchen upstairs hadn't been used in more than two years. Unless James was bringing Bella fast food every day, which I couldn't smell any in the house at all, plus I don't think he'd risk going out in public when he had Bella here all alone, so it must be true. "Why coyote?"

"Coyotes are common to the whole state of Arizona," Emmett spoke, "James probably chose them for availability, nothing else."

Emmett, coming through with the smarts, it always amazes me when he does this.

"There's still one issue," Rose spoke softly, "There's nothing here to suggest that the meat was cooked."

She was right and I think we were all thinking it. Charlie's comment about meat going missing when he wasn't home and there being no mess, it all fit with Bella eating it raw. It made me sick to my stomach. I was always taught that eating raw meat was bad, it contained bacteria. Bella was probably used to the taste by now, but I'd have to get her to stop as soon as possible.

"What are you going to tell Charlie?" Alice asked me.

In a way it'd be simple to tell him the truth but I knew he couldn't handle that, and I don't think Bella would want him knowing either. Maybe I could tell him a half truth, I'd have to think it through.

"I don't know," I answered.

"Are we done here?" Rose asked and I could tell that she felt uncomfortable being here.

I looked around once more, committing it to memory. I took a deep breath trying to see if I could smell anyone else's scent. I couldn't smell anyone but Bella. I think the rotting coyotes were masking any other scent there may have been. There was only one thing we didn't get on this trip and that was finding out exactly what Bella went through for the past two years, we weren't going to find that here, no, Bella would be the only one able to tell us that.

"Yeah, let's go," I was slightly defeated, but I was happy that I now knew the reason behind Bella's lack of eating. She wasn't eating what she was now used to. I'd have to think of a plan to help Bella get back to eating normal food again. Either way this trip wasn't a waste.

The others were already up the stairs wanting to get away from the smell as soon as they could. I turned to leave but something caught my eye, under the bed. I made my way over to it and knelt down. There, halfway under the bed, nearly completely covered by dirt, was a necklace of sorts. I picked it up and examined it. It was a necklace with two hearts intertwining. I brought it to my nose and sniffed it. I could smell Bella's scent, but also another scent that smelt slightly like Bella, her mother's I presumed. I grabbed the necklace and put it in my pocket. Bella had probably lost it and forgotten about it. I'm sure she'd want it back one day, especially if it belonged to her mother.

I made my way out of the house. The others were already sitting in Carlisle's Mercedes. I turned and looked back at the house. The house where Bella was kept for two years. She'd probably describe it as hell. I closed my eyes and stretched out my gift, I couldn't sense anyone around for a few blocks. I didn't hesitate. I pulled my trusty lighter out of my pocket and walked around the back. I lit the tall, dead grass strategically on fire and I watched as the wind blew it and the house caught alight. I jumped in the car and we parked down the block. When the house was well on fire Emmett called 911 and we left.

We were all silent for a long time before Emmett spoke, "The case of the disappearing coyotes."

"What?" I asked him confused. He seemed puzzled. He was thinking hard again, that was never good.

"I was trying to figure out what the title would be if this was a Hardy Boys book," Emmett was being dead serious. Well, he did love the Hardy Boys.

I could feel the amusement coming from Rose and Alice.

"Really?" I questioned him. "That's what you're thinking about right now?"

"Yes. I mean the title can't give too much away so I think if it was about the missing coyotes then that would throw some people off."

What? Was he on drugs or something.

"Wow Emmett, you know, you should quit school and join Charlie in law enforcement," his curiosity and happiness spiked, oh no, that was a mistake. "It was a joke," I added but it was too late.

"That's a good idea," he was so happy now, "I mean, I've nearly finished school anyway. I've never been a police officer before. It'd be so cool. Solving crimes. Carrying a gun. Speeding in a police car. I'd be so good at that."

I tested Rose's emotions and she was torn between feeling angry at me and happy for her mate. Hopefully she'd settle on being happy for her mate and forget all about me.

"Alice?" I questioned, surely she'd have an insight into how this would play out.

"Nope, not touching this one," she responded smiling.

Great.

"Oh, I wonder if I could be like Charlie's understudy or whatever they call it. Oh, do you think Esme will allow me to graduate early, you don't need to graduate high school to become a police officer, do you? Oh, I wonder if Carlisle will be proud of me. Oh, we'd have a police officer and a doctor in the family. Oh-"

Okay, officially tuning Emmett out now. We were all in for a long twelve hour trip back home, and I knew that Alice and Rose would start blaming me soon. Maybe now would be a good time to get some sleep, but then again I did not trust them at all when I was asleep. I'd probably end up with marker on my face or something worse. Hopefully the twelve hours would pass quickly. Hopefully.

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><p><strong>AN- **Review and tell me what you thought


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N-** Thanks for reviewing guys, very much appreciated.

I'm feeling a bit sick, so this chapter is somewhat incomplete, but it's around 4,000 words so it doesn't really matter, I just wanted to get this out to you guys.

James is dead by the way and he won't be coming back, just thought I'd let you guys know as some of you were asking about him.

Enjoy

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><p>"Where have you been?" Carlisle asked us, arms crossed, as we finally came stumbling through the door nearly twenty-four hours after we left Phoenix. It was five pm Sunday night.<p>

"Blame these two idiots," Rose said as she strode past us and made her way up the stairs.

"What happened?" Esme asked concerned, "Why did it take you twice as long to get home?"

"Oh, no reason," I answered, "Just Emmett being an idiot."

Carlisle and Esme looked at us confused. Edward came over and joined them. _Yay he was back, great. _

"I heard that," he told me.

_Yeah, I don't really give a flying fuck Edward_. His face paled. S_tay the fuck out of my head then._

"You really don't want to know," Alice answered Esme's question. "Emmett was annoying us all so Jasper kicked him out of the car, we didn't get far before Emmett slashed the back tire. So, of course we had to get the spare out and fix it. We all got back in the car and made it a few more hours before Emmett kicked Jasper out for tapping the dashboard relentlessly without letting up. Jasper got out and ran East towards Nevada, so we had to chase him down. He didn't make it easy. We caught him. Then Emmett pulled over in Sacramento, dead set on buying a gun." Carlisle and Esme's faces dropped, "Don't worry, the guy didn't sell him one, especially seeing as Emmett was underage. Emmett tried to overpay the guy but he didn't let up. We finally left when the guy threatened to call the cops. Then we had to stop you-know-where so that Jasper could return their sweatshirt, and now here we are."

"Where do I even start?" Carlisle asked us. I suddenly wished I had taken Rosalie's tact and disappeared up the stairs before anything was said. "Was the trip a success?"

"Yes," I answered as I stepped forward. "I wrote everything we found out down for you so you could read it in private," I glanced at Edward briefly as I handed all the information on Bella over to Carlisle.

"And you returned the sweatshirt safely, no regrets?" Esme asked me.

"Yeah, everything went fine. Sat it on the bed just like Alice said. I don't regret nothing, not yet anyway."

"Mom, dad," Emmett began trying to contain his excitement, but failing. "Can I drop out of school and join the police force?" I was surprised he had waited this long.

"No," came Carlisle's immediate reply. "Why do you even want to?"

"Well, I never did, but Jasper mentioned it and I thought about it, and it's the best idea ever," Emmett.

"Jasper?" Carlisle questioned. Great, now all their eyes were on me.

"It was a joke," I told them, "I can't help Emmett took it seriously."

"Come on," Emmett pleaded them, "I'm sick of going to school over and over again, I want to actually do something, like Carlisle, I want to be a cop."

"We-" Carlisle faltered. "We will discuss this at another time." Emmett's face fell immediately.

I was just glad that conversation was over, for now.

"Do you even realize that I'm back?" Edward asked us, he was confused. Maybe because we were ignoring him.

"Yeah, we can see that," I deadpanned, he wasn't happy with that.

"It's good to have you back Edward," Alice went over to him and brought him into a hug.

"Oh," I started, now seemed like a good as time as any, "Alice and I broke up, we're not mated anymore," I told Edward before heading for the stairs.

"What?" Edward asked confused. "You-you broke up? When I was away?" He faltered.

"Yeah," he didn't seem convinced. "Emmett caught the whole thing on video if you want to watch it."

"Are you okay Alice?" He asked her. _Hey, what about me?_ Edward glanced at me briefly before turning his attention back to Alice.

"I'm-" Alice began but stopped, "It's hard, you know." Oh Alice please don't make me be the bad guy in all this, I do not need Edward on my ass. "We were together for a long time, but he just isn't the one. I guess my true mate is still out there somewhere, I'll just have to wait until he comes into my life."

Edward frowned. At least Alice didn't blame me to get sympathy from Edward.

"Did anything else happen whilst I was away?" Edward asked confused.

I thought back to the week, Bella, Carlisle's emotions, right Carlisle's emotions. I tested him emotions and I was glad to see that they are the same as when Edward was away, but I could tell that he was struggling to keep his newfound happiness over watching out for Edward's happiness. I sent Carlisle the pride I was feeling towards him. He looked up at me and smiled.

"No, nothing else happened," I answered him. "I'll be up in my room."

I headed for the stairs.

"Can we talk about it now?" Emmett asked Carlisle and Esme all hopeful.

"Emmett," Carlisle sighed.

I really shouldn't have mentioned it, but how was I to know that Emmett would take becoming a police officer on board so strongly, plus Alice didn't stop me.

"Edward," Alice spoke as I hit my room. "Do you mind keeping me company? We could play a game of chess."

I smiled at that, Alice hated chess, but Edward loved it. And then I closed my door and tuned them all out. Allowing myself to get lost in my own thoughts. Bella. Bella. Charlie. Bella. Yep, that pretty much summed it up. Alice had seen Bella wearing the sweatshirt tomorrow and that vision had never wavered, but I couldn't wait to see it with my own eyes. I wondered if Bella had been using her journal over the weekend, I sure hope so. Charlie, I wondered if he took my advice and did something with Bella. I'd have to make sure I visited him tomorrow to let him know what was going on, or at least let him know what he should do without letting him know about Bella's unhealthy eating habits. And then back to Bella, always Bella. I was so tempted to go and visit her. She wasn't there when I dropped the sweatshirt off. I just slid through her window, left the sweatshirt on the bed, and left. Nothing else. I was going to wait until tomorrow to see her though, I did not need Edward on me wondering where I was going at this time of night.

Tomorrow Edward will see that I've claimed Bella, I didn't know how that was going to work out, but it probably wouldn't be pretty. Edward would take a long time to get used to it, he didn't like change. Hopefully Alice would begin her attack on getting Edward as her mate soon so I wouldn't have to worry about him at all. So now, basically there was nothing to do until tomorrow. Tomorrow. Fourteen hours until school starts. Monday morning, start of another week. Time was a funny thing when you became a vampire. Minutes could seem like years, whereas years seemed like minutes. It was odd. It seems like only yesterday that Alice and I joined the Cullen's, yet it seemed like an eternity since I had entered my room. I could never explain it right. Knowing I had nothing to do until school, I grabbed a book and laid down on my bed.

The time flew by, thankfully, and I was now getting ready for school. I found that I kind of missed the simplicity of wearing Bella's sweatshirt, but I was glad that I could try out some of my new clothes. I stood in front of my closet and just looked at my clothes. This had to be the first time I got to actually pick my own clothes, all of my clothes, in the past fifty years, and that may be why I just stood there, staring. I was even feeling a little overwhelmed. I took a deep breath. I just had to pick what I wanted. No one was going to criticize me on my choices. I grabbed the first shirt I found, a white 'The Clash' t-shirt, I grabbed a black long sleeve shirt to wear underneath it. I grabbed a new pair of jeans and pulled them on. I decided on my new black motorcycle boots, I somehow hoped it would match the black in my shirt- What the hell was I thinking, way too many years with Alice. Things did not need to match, well they did, I didn't want to look bad. Okay so maybe it was a good thing I knew to not wear brown boots with a black shirt, I don't know.

"Jasper," Alice called out, "Edward's driving us."

Great, I wondered if he knew that I lost my license yet.

"You lost your license?" Edward, okay so he knew now. "By speeding." He began laughing.

_Yeah laugh it up Eddie-boy_. At least he didn't know the real reason why I allowed myself to get caught. I made my way down the stairs, I guess we were all going in the Volvo with Edward, just like old times.

"Here," Alice said as she handed me a black leather jacket as soon as I entered the garage.

"What's this for?" I asked her as I took the motorcycle jacket off her and examined it.

It was black, but seemed to be well worn. Vintage. It had a few buckles and I'll admit it looked pretty good. I slid it on and it fit perfectly. Felt good too.

"I bought you a jacket," Alice smiled at me, I sent her my gratitude and slight confusion, when the hell did she get this? "I got it when we were in Sacramento," Alice answered my unspoken question. "There was a vintage shop around the corner from the gun shop Emmett was in. I had a vision and here you go."

"Thanks," I pulled her into a hug before jumping into the back seat with Rose and Emmett, it was a tight fit. "Why are we all in the Volvo?" I asked them confused. "Surely half of us can take Emmett's jeep?"

"Emmett got his jeep taken off him," Rose answered me, I sent her some confusion and she continued. "He kept on harassing Carlisle and Esme about dropping out of school, they warned him if he didn't shut up that they would take his jeep away, he didn't shut up."

"Okay," I still didn't see why we couldn't take Rose's car, sure if was flashy, but still it was better than being trapped in this metal piece of crap like sardines.

"Do you want to walk?" Edward asked me dead serious. Oh, it was such a joy to have the mind reader back.

"No," I muttered.

"Then don't insult my car."

We arrived at school. All in one piece, barely. I was ready to rip someone's throat out. I jumped out as soon as the car started to break and made my way into the school. As soon as I was in the main corridor I looked for Bella. Somehow I knew that if I saw her then everything would be alright. She was at her locker, and I smiled when I saw that she was wearing my, well her, sweatshirt. It was a little big on her, but it looked good, and it would serve its purpose. I let her be and made my way to my first class. I was agitated the whole day, just waiting for lunch to roll around so that I could see Bella again. I suddenly realized why all the students loved lunch so much, it was a time where we could all do as we pleased, and I was going to make the most of it.

Lunch, finally. I went straight to the cafeteria. I was literally the first one there, weird. It was so quiet. I was going to skip the lunch line when the lunch lady eyed me suspiciously. Okay, I'd get some lunch. I grabbed the things I thought guys usually grabbed. Being the only person here was not a good choice on my part, the lunch lady was watching me like a hawk. I couldn't make a mistake here. I piled the tray higher than I ever had and made my way over to me. She didn't smile at me, at all. I paid her and left. I wondered why she wasn't dazzled by me, why she wasn't giving off the usual lust I felt coming off most ladies. It didn't seem to make sense. The only thing I could think of is that she watched my family. She watched us get the food and then proceed to not eat it. That had to be it. I stopped mid cafeteria and spun around. The line was now packed with students, weird.

I looked over at our usual table. No one was there. Edward was back. I didn't want to sit there. I glanced over to Bella's table, the one she shared with Angela. Could I sit there? Would Edward care? Would Bella and Angela care? Maybe I should just play it safe. I really didn't want to sit with Edward though. I had enjoyed my time without him, immensely. It was great, but was this something I wanted to do. My phone vibrated and I pulled it out. A message from Peter, I opened it up. _Just sit there._ Okay, so I guess it was decided.

Peter had a power, he just knew shit. I don't know how, but he just saw how things were. He knew when the newborn armies were coming from the left and not the right as all the signs pointed to. His power was akin to Alice's, yet he couldn't use it when he wanted to and it didn't change with the decisions people made. No, his just came to him. It was as if some higher power was letting him in on the future. He saw the randomness things and he just knew shit. That was the best way to explain it, he just knew shit. Shit no one else knew, shit he shouldn't know at all. He was like Alice though, in the fact that you never bet against him. I actually trusted his power more than Alice's. I had seen his work time and time again during the war. He saved my ass with it more times than I can count, so I never questioned him.

I made my way over to Bella's table and sat down in the seat in the middle. Bella always sat two seats to my left, and Angela sat two seats to my right. That was a safe distance between us all. I looked up and saw Bella at the start of the lunch line, I hoped she would sit with me. Angela was at her side in a minute and they made their way through the line, grabbing their food. My family wasn't here yet, they always waited until later so they weren't stuck in the line surrounded by humans. I tuned into their conversation.

"Is that," Angela started, but stopped, questioning herself for a second before continuing, "Is that Jasper's sweatshirt?"

Oh, I didn't really think about the humans connecting the fact that my sweatshirt was now Bella's. It wouldn't be hard to miss. I wore that shirt for the past three school days and now suddenly I wasn't wearing it, and Bella was now wearing an identical one. Yeah, there was no way they wouldn't notice that. I listened in to see if Bella would answer. She was playing with the sleeve and she shrugged her shoulders in response. Hmm, neither a yes or a no. Hang on, if the humans knew it was my sweatshirt then surely Bella would know it was mine as well. Did I think this through at all? So, Bella knew it was mine, she must. I guess I was okay with that. She was still wearing after all, so that was a good sign at least.

"Why is Jasper sitting at our table?" Angela asked and I made sure to stare at my food. Bella of course didn't speak. "Do you want to sit there? Because we don't have to if you don't want to." Angela was concerned, she was a good girl that one, not a bad bone in her body, very genuine.

"It's fine," Bella spoke and I could feel Angela's emotions become brighter, if possible. I'm assuming this is the first time that Bella has spoken in front of her, I was so proud of her.

"Jasper," Angela greeted as they sat down in their usual seats. "How are you?"

"Good," I answered, "And you?"

"Also good," there was a pause. "Jasper, if you don't mind me asking, umm, why aren't you sitting with your family?"

"Edward," I answered truthfully, "I just need a break." Thankfully my family hadn't entered the cafeteria yet. "I hope you don't mind."

"No, not at all."

"Bella?" I questioned her and she looked up at me. There was a small smile on her face.

"No," she shifted her tray and pulled out the journal I had given her on Friday from underneath. I hope this means that she had been using it.

I was so tempted to ask if I could see it, but I didn't think that would be wise. Whatever Bella was using the journal for would be personal, I knew mine were. All my journals held everything that I couldn't say out loud, my deepest darkest secrets. I kept them hidden in plain sight, amongst all my other books. If the Cullen's read them, well, it wouldn't be a good thing. I finally tore my eyes away from the journal and focused on pretending to eat my food, but truthfully I was just pushing it around the tray.

"So what did you do on the weekend?" Angela asked and I looked up to see her looking at me.

"Umm," I faltered. "Rose, Emmett, Alice and I went on a road trip." Did I need to add more information to that. I was not used to interacting with humans at all, maybe I had to add one thing that actually happened on the trip. "Emmett tried to buy a gun on the way back, unsuccessfully I might add."

"Why did he want a gun?" Angela asked, oh I forgot about this part. What was I supposed to tell them?

"He wants to drop out of school and become a police officer," the truth was my best bet here, "Carlisle and Esme are not jumping on that bandwagon though. What did you do Bella?"

Yes, quick, shift the attention off of me. Angela smiled encouragingly at Bella, hopeful that she would answer. I was hoping that she would answer too. I was away the whole weekend and I had no idea what she got up to.

"Charlie and I," Bella began, her voice still rough from lack of use, "We went to Seattle again."

"Did you enjoy yourself?" I asked when she didn't elaborate.

"Yeah."

"And Angela? Did you have a good weekend?" I asked her, shifting the attention off Bella now, I didn't need to overwhelm her, but she seemed to be doing okay.

"Maybe," she blushed, I sent her some courage, "I went by the diner, Ben got a job there," she looked across to Jessica and Mike's table and I could feel the love coming from her.

"Did you talk to him?" I asked her suddenly curious.

"No," she became more embarrassed. "I made it in the door, I saw him, and then I ran. Not my finest moment, but he didn't see me, I think."

We fell into a kind of lull in the conversation, but it wasn't uncomfortable. My family finally arrived and they sat down at their usual table. I could feel the anger coming off Edward as soon as he saw me with Bella.

"Jasper, what are you doing?" Yep, Edward was angry. I kept my focus on my food, not feeling the need to respond. "You're going to kill her, you're too close. Jasper, back off."

I stayed silent, what was I supposed to tell him?

"Edward," Alice spoke, "He's fine, I've checked the future, nothing bad happens."

Edward was not convinced. I tuned him out. I looked back at our table. Bella had her journal open and was drawing in it, just random swirls it seemed. I was glad she was using it, and in front of me too. I smiled at that.

"You too are similar, you both don't eat much," Angela spoke and then she quickly apologized, "I'm sorry that was rude of me."

"It's okay," I tried to draw away from her embarrassment and tried not to draw Bella into this conversation at all. "I'm allergic to a lot of things, wheat, peanuts, eggs. I'm on a special diet, have to be careful."

I got a shot of amusement from Bella and I saw a small smile on her face as she continued drawing in her journal. I wonder where that came from.

"That must suck," Angela replied.

"Yeah, sometimes."

The bell finally rang to signal the end of lunch, we all got up together and disposed of our trays. We made our way outside together. I saw Bella shiver from the cold and I noticed that she wasn't wearing a jacket, just the sweatshirt. I didn't hesitate as I pulled the leather motorcycle jacket Alice had given me off and placed it around her shoulders. "Thanks," Bella said as she slipped her arms into it, I smiled at her.

"Anytime."

"Jasper," Alice appeared in front of us. "Hi Bella," Bella stepped into my side a little. She seemed slightly scared of Alice. "I need to talk to you."

"Sure, I'll see you two later," I followed Alice away from the humans. "What?"

"You need to leave now," she told me seriously.

"What do you mean?" I asked her confused.

"I've seen what happens, Edward does not react well to you claiming Bella. If you leave now then the confrontation will be at home and not in the school parking lot."

"Okay," I would trust her on this, "You'll keep an eye on Bella for me, make sure Edward doesn't do anything stupid?"

"Of course Jasper. Go and visit Charlie, he's at home right now, you can tell him what you found out."

Right, I needed to do that. "Okay, thanks."

Part of me wanted to stick around and keep an eye on Bella, Edward could be unpredictable at times, but if Alice said that I shouldn't be here, then I wasn't going to be here. I didn't need to screw anything up by disobeying her, plus she was right I could go talk to Charlie. I did promise him that I'd have an answer for him about Bella's diet on Monday, and today was Monday. I didn't know what I was going to tell him, but hopefully it would come to me on my way over to his house. I left the school, somewhat apprehensive, but I forced myself not to go back.

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><p><strong>AN- **I've been looking at the book and Bella has a date with Tyler's van tomorrow morning if I'm following the timeline of Twilight right, now we still have to deal with the rest of this day, but the chapter after that will have Bella getting killed by a van, or not, haha.

Review and tell me what you thought.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N- **Sorry for the long wait, what's it's been like five days? Anyway I had the first half of this chapter written five days ago but I was having trouble with how Edward would realistically react to Jasper claiming Bella, and how Jasper in turn would react to Edward. I think I did it justice. Then my two and a half year old niece turned up for five days and it's hard to write when you're not used to looking after a kid. They sleep, you sleep, and that's all there is to it. Anyway all this gave me time to think the scene through completely and I guess I'm happy with it. Either way it suits where I want to take this story, so that's the main thing.

Okay

Enjoy

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><p>I arrived at Charlie's and he was sitting on the porch, beer in hand, clearly enjoying his day off. I approached him nervously. I had a fair idea about what I was going to tell him but I still wasn't one hundred per cent sure it was the best decision. In a way telling him the truth would be the easiest option, but I knew that wasn't necessarily the best option for Bella and I had to keep Bella's best interests in mind.<p>

"Jasper?" Charlie questioned when he saw me approaching him. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you at school? You're not in trouble are you?" He seemed genuinely concerned for me.

"I'm fine, no trouble," I smiled at him as I stood awkwardly on the porch steps.

"Have a seat," Charlie motioned towards the seat next to him. He was feeling curious now.

"I came because I told you that I'd have an answer regarding Bella's diet on Monday, and today is Monday." He was shocked, I guess he thought I wouldn't come up with anything.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," then he felt some hope. "You told me to forget it for the weekend and I did," bashful.

"I'm glad you did," I was stalling now.

"So?" Charlie began. I stayed quiet. "Did you find anything out?"

"I thought about it, a lot," I admitted to him, "And the main thing I kept on coming back to was that we have no idea what Bella ate the past two years. Her abductor could have given her anything to eat." Yes, keep it broad, no specifics.

"Yeah, that's true," Charlie agreed, contemplative. "Did you come up with anything else? What Bella might have been eating?"

"No," I lied, I didn't think Charlie needed to know the details about that at all.

"Jasper," Charlie sighed, he was somewhat resigned. He began fiddling with his beer bottle. "Chief Harris and I became good friends."

"Chief Harris?" I questioned him confused, what was he getting at? I had to remind myself that I should have no idea who Chief Harris is.

"I," he began but stopped. "Chief Harris called me on Saturday, told me that the FBI was now investigating my daughter's case." I held my breath. "He told me there was a young guy in his station, a Jackson Monroe, and when Harris described him to me, well, he sounded a hell of a lot like you Jasper." I let go of the breath I was holding. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? Was I supposed to say something now? Was I supposed to lie to him? I decided to stay silent, Charlie would speak eventually, I hoped. It seemed like hours passed, but it was maybe five minutes before Charlie spoke again. "Jasper what were you doing in Phoenix?"

Okay, what do I tell him. I was obviously made. I don't think I could convince him that it wasn't me, and a part of me didn't want to lie to him again. I decided to tell the truth for now.

"I told you I'd find out what was going on with Bella and the answers were in Phoenix, so," I just stopped mid sentence, I didn't know what I was supposed to tell him.

"You impersonated an FBI agent, that's a federal crime Jasper," I tried to get a read on his emotions but he was keeping a tight lock on them, like Bella, maybe it was a family thing.

"I know, but I had good ID," I sighed. "I don't know what to tell you Charlie, you wanted answers and I got you answers. I stand by what I did."

"Jasper," Charlie began, slowly, carefully. "You- I- Who are you?" He finally settled on.

"Jasper Whitlock?" Was this a trick question.

"Jasper, you don't seem like a kid, you know that right. None of those kids you go to school with would talk to me let alone make friends with me. You know I'm not stupid right?"

"I know," I admitted. "Just ask me what you want to know Charlie and I'll answer you straight up if I can."

"How old are you?" He asked me, waiting to see if I would lie or not.

"Twenty," I answered honestly.

"How are you still in school if you're twenty?" Charlie asked me, he was confused.

"I don't like school," I admitted to him. "If it was up to me I wouldn't be there at all, but Carlisle and Esme expect me to be there, so I'm there."

"Were you held back then?" Charlie did seem awfully fixed on me all of a sudden.

"I wasn't going to school before I met the Cullen's," well that was the truth.

"Hmm," he seemed to be thinking about his newly found information. His emotions suddenly shifted, he was curious and confused now. "Why do you care about Bella so much? Why do you care about me so much?"

What was I supposed to tell him now? Do I stick with the truth, it seemed to be working out well for me so far, yeah so far. All I had to do was say one thing wrong and that would be it. I didn't know what else to do so I told him the truth, I didn't think it would matter.

"I have a gift of sorts, more of an ability," I told him being as honest as I could without alerting him to the fact that I was a vampire. "Just by looking at someone I can automatically know how they're feeling. I saw Bella the first day of school, she, she's the first person I couldn't get a read off, she appeared to be dead inside. I wanted to help her feel something again. She admires you Charlie. You're her dad, she loves you and she needs you to help her heal. So I was approaching you so I could subtly push you in the right direction."

"What am I feeling right now?" He asked me, trying to trip me up I guess.

I closed my eyes to get a better read on his emotions.

"Disbelief," I answered opening my eyes, "Coupled with some pride, towards me." There was the pride again, and from Charlie no less.

"Huh," is all he replied, I could see he was thinking it all over. "So what did you find out in Phoenix?"

I shook my head. "I can't tell you that Charlie," he frowned. "You will gain nothing from knowing."

"But, you know?" I nodded my head, "And it's bad?"

"In some ways yes, in others, well it could be worse. I have a plan though, if you want to hear it?"

"Sure," he answered standing up. "I was just about to wash the cruiser, you don't mind do you?"

"No, go ahead," he disappeared inside and got everything he needed.

I jumped down from the porch and approached the cruiser. So Charlie knew a lot it seemed. I don't know how I felt about that. It's not like I told him I'm a vampire though, so everything should be alright. Now I just had to tell him my plan and hope he accepted it without knowing what Bella had been eating. Charlie reappeared with a bucket of soapy water and a sponge.

"So, what's the plan kid?" Charlie asked me as he began washing the car. I just stood there and watched him.

"Firstly you need to get rid of all the meat out of the house," he was about to speak but I silenced him, "Let me get this all out and then you can ask me what you want, okay?"

"Okay," he accepted, focusing on the police cruiser rather than me, that was fine with me.

"Get rid of the meat, that should stop Bella eating when you're not around," I explained to him. "Next, starting from today I want you to take Bella out to eat. Take her to Forks Diner, take her to Port Angeles if you can. This way she can order what she wants but you'll be able to take note of how much she's eating and what she's eating. And because you're in public you'll be able to push Bella a little each night to eat a little bit more than the previous day, she won't refuse you in public. You'll have to do this for a few weeks at least. Then when she's eating everything she ordered you can try and eat at home again."

Charlie was thinking it over, he had some doubt. "What about cooking? Bella loves to cook, I can see that."

"Let her cook you breakfast. Tell her you want pancakes or muffins, she'll be happy to do it for you. The main goal we are trying to achieve here is that you will be able to monitor and make sure she is eating enough at dinner for the whole day, okay?"

"And you're sure this is going to work?" Charlie asked me, still doubtful.

"It's worth a shot. There's another thing I have to do, it has to do with what she's been eating, but I'll handle that, okay?"

"I don't like not knowing Jasper," that was the truth.

"I know Charlie, but I can tell by your emotions that you can't take much more, just trust me on this okay, it's for your own good."

"Fine," I could feel a little bit of acceptance from him and I smiled.

"Are you planning on helping me or not?" Charlie asked me as he threw the wet sponge at me. I caught it easily. I guess I'd help him. I dipped the sponge in the water and helped him clean the car. "So, what'd you do in Phoenix? Is there anything you can tell me? Anything you found out?"

Did I want to tell Charlie anything? Could he handle it?

"I found where Bella was kept captive," I spoke quietly, still not sure if this was the right decision or not.

"What?" Charlie asked me confused, his emotions going haywire. "What? How?"

"How do you think I found out what she had been eating?" I asked him before continuing. "It was just a house, abandoned, but it was fairly nice in the basement where she was kept. No signs that any physical or sexual abuse was being caused to her down there."

Charlie let out a sigh. "Do you know why he kept her alive for so long?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "I guess he was waiting for something. Maybe he was grooming her for something. It's the only thing that makes sense, he was just waiting."

Charlie seemed to be processing this. "And where is the place? Did you notify the police?"

"There was nothing there Charlie," I cleared my throat, "No clues," I lied, we did have the name Victoria Burns we had to research but Charlie didn't need to know this. "I burnt it down."

"You burnt it?" Charlie questioned me confused. He did not agree with my decision at all. "You have a hard time obeying the law Jasper, you destroyed evidence."

"Look Charlie," I began, sending him a bit of calm. He seemed to notice I was doing something and he pushed the calm away. "Here's the facts. James Hunter murdered your ex wife and he abducted your daughter for two years. Now James is dead and Bella is back in your arms and she's on her way to healing. It's going to take a long time for her to heal fully, but she's beginning the process. You need to start letting it go if you are to help Bella heal."

He huffed. I could tell that he knew I was right. Good, maybe we could finally move past this. I dipped the sponge back in the water. I dipped it too far and it wet my sleeve. I sighed and pulled my sleeves up without thinking.

"What the hell?" Charlie asked angrily as he grabbed my arm. "Jasper, who did this to you?"

"Did what?" I asked dumbly as I easily pulled out of his grasp and pulled my sleeves back down. Damn scars. They were hard for humans to see but I had no doubt that Charlie had just seen them.

"Jasper," Charlie said, his arms outstretched, palms facing forward, a classic sign of submissiveness, "Is somebody hurting you? Are the Cullen's-" the question seemed to die on his tongue. He didn't even want to entertain the idea that the Cullen's had abused me.

"It happened before I met the Cullen's," I answered him, my head cast downwards. "The Cullen's have never hurt me."

"Jasper is this something you need to talk about? Because I'm here."

"No, no way," I quickly answered and Charlie's face fell. "I can't talk to you Charlie, I can't talk to anyone about it, sorry, but I can't. Anyway it happened a long time ago, I've moved past it now. Talking about it would only reopen past wounds and I don't want that." I hoped like hell he'd listen to me.

"What are they?" Okay, so he wasn't going to listen to me. "They look like bite marks, and there's so many of them."

"Charlie," I closed my eyes and breathed out, I was trying to keep my emotions in check, I didn't want to lash out at him. "Just drop it."

"I guess," he began and I was ready to rip his tongue out, good thing I held off. "I guess it's a good thing you're helping Bella then, seeing as you've gone through something..." he faltered. "Something bad before as well," he finished.

"Yes," I agreed. "I know what I'm talking about when it comes to these kinds of situations, you've just got to trust me."

"I do," there was a break in the conversation. Could I leave yet? Had everything been said? I knew I had said way more than I planned to today that's for sure. I don't know what it is about Charlie, but I guess, he's my friend. A friend who doesn't know all my shit. "Question about Bella?" Charlie asked my permission, I nodded my head for him to continue. "Is she wearing your sweatshirt?" I nodded my head again. "Why?"

"You do not want to know," is all I replied. Figures Charlie would know it was my sweatshirt as well.

"Okay," he accepted. I guess he was done questioning me today. He could probably tell that I couldn't take much more personal stuff today, and he clearly didn't want to upset me any further. "I have another question I was going to ask you and now knowing a little about your story and knowing that you want Bella to get better, well, you're probably the perfect person to ask."

"Okay," I urged him to continue.

"I bought an old truck from Billy Black," Black from the Indian reservation I assume. "Anyway, I wanted to give it to Bella as a gift. You know, so she could ride to school by herself, all that. My only concern was that maybe she'd use it to escape. That she'd drive off into the unknown and never look back. What do you think?" He seemed so conflicted, it was probably a good thing he had me to talk to.

"Bella wouldn't just leave you Charlie," I told him and that was the truth. "I think it's a good idea, a good gesture on your part and she'll see that. Plus it will give her some much needed _freedom_," I emphasized the word freedom hoping he'd pick up on it.

He did. He blushed. "Freedom, right, makes sense," he seemed embarrassed that he didn't pick up on it.

"Okay, well I'll leave you to it," I turned to leave. "Don't forget to take Bella out for dinner tonight and to get rid of all the meat."

"I will. Do you need a ride Jasper?" He called after me.

I turned around briefly. "No, I need to clear my head, but thank you for the offer."

As soon as he turned away I ran into the forest never looking back.

"You're home early," Esme greeted me as soon as I came through the door.

"Yeah, apparently Edward's not going to react well to me claiming Bella."

"Well that's understandable, the poor boy came back from Alaska with the decision to talk to Bella and now he can't." Esme was right, I didn't look at it like that. Edward had come back to a lot of changes it seemed. "You smell like Charlie."

Did I? I smelt my arm, yeah I definitely smelt like Charlie. "Yeah, I just left his place."

"Did you tell him about Bella?" Esme asked me somewhat concerned.

"Some, though I think I spent more time talking about myself then Bella and I don't know why." It was weird for me to tell anyone about myself let alone a human, granted I didn't tell him anything personal, but still. "What are you doing?" I asked her as soon as I could.

"Nothing," she said as she gathered up a whole lot of... well I don't know what it was exactly, off the table, and ran upstairs.

"Was that a hot glue gun?" I asked her confused. "What were you making?"

"Nothing, just, you know, filling in time. What do you think I do all day when you kids are at school and Carlisle's at work."

I had never actually thought about what Esme did, by herself, all day long. It must feel like a long time to be all by yourself.

"So you do crafts? Like that Martha Steward broad?" I questioned her confused.

"Yes," I could feel her anger rising. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, of course not. I never really thought of what you did whilst we were all away. Crafts is a suitable option, especially if you enjoy it. Why do you hide it from us though?"

"I know how you all are with my 'hoarding', why would this be any different." She was right, Emmett would probably tease her about it, but he teases everyone, so.

"Right. Well I won't say anything, I promise."

"Thank you Jasper."

Sure. I was suddenly hit with a fairly strong dose of anger. Edward. So he was angry. I needed to make sure I kept a level head throughout all this. I had to remind myself that Edward's anger was just misplaced, fueled by his confusion.

"Edward's coming," I told Esme. We couldn't hear them yet so I gave her a heads up.

"Should we call Carlisle?" She was concerned.

"No, that won't be necessary," I smiled reassuringly at her. She wasn't convinced.

Esme was currently feeling concern, unhappiness, worry and anxiety. I sent her some calm coupled with some love. She smiled at me. We could hear them now, Edward was on foot, Emmett not far behind him. I counted the seconds it took for him to get to me. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Ten seconds and he was on me, thankfully he kept a few feet of distance between us.

"You," Edward accused pointing his finger at me. "Why did you claim Bella?" I was about to answer but he continued. "Why were you sitting with her at lunch? You could have killed her."

"You were sitting with her?" Esme gushed as she smiled at me, and Edward glared at her briefly before turning his attention back to me.

"Why are Carlisle's thoughts guarded? Why is he conflicted?" Apparently Edward wasn't finished yet. I let him continue. I wasn't going to interrupt him and anger him further. "Why did more things change in the week I was away than they have in the past decade?"

He paused. I waited. Was he finished? He didn't continue. He just looked at me expectantly. I tried to get a read on his emotions. Anger was the main one. I pushed past the anger trying to find out what was lying underneath. There was rejection, loneliness and dread. Okay, so he was not feeling alright at all. I had to be careful here.

"I claimed Bella, yes," I began slowly, carefully. "I claimed her because," I faltered, I knew I couldn't tell him it was because of him, "I claimed her because I wanted to," okay that was a bad answer. "Bella and I have interacted. I do not care for her blood, I swear."

"What are you doing with her then? Why did you break up with Alice and then claim Bella? Is she your mate?" The rejection was back.

"It's complicated," I started and his anger was returning. "Bella and I are... friends. I do not think that she is my mate. She was not the reason Alice and I broke up. Alice and I weren't suited from the start, it was her idea that we stayed together, that we pretended," he wasn't convinced. "Read my thoughts," I told him as I ran through the conversation Alice and I had just after we met. How we realized we weren't truly mated. How Alice convinced me that we should stay together for the time being. I showed him everything he needed to know.

"Okay," he accepted. "And Bella? Why did you claim her if she's not your mate?"

I thought about Bella, what should I tell him, how much? He frowned at me, right Edward blocker.

"She's the reason you can't read my mind at times," I admitted to him and I could see him connecting the dots. He couldn't hear her thoughts either so it made sense in some weird way. I still think she was a shield. That because of what she had been through she was projecting her shield or something. Somehow making it as though whoever thought about her was protected. I don't know. That didn't really make sense, maybe there was more to it than that. "I can't read her emotions either, she's blocked them, she doesn't feel anything. I've been interacting with her, helping her, seeing if she can feel. That's all, okay? I just want her to get better."

"And Carlisle?" I could tell he was calming down. There was a small piece of acceptance running through him but he hadn't embraced it just yet.

I kept my mind clear. I didn't need him to know any more then I was going to tell him.

"Carlisle went through an emotional shift whilst you were away," he frowned, again. "It's nothing to worry about, we evolve Edward, we change. Carlisle just changed a little emotionally, everything's fine, just a small shift. He's just having trouble accepting it at times."

"But this change is for the best?" He was worried.

"Yes, this change is for the best," I told him truthfully.

"So?" He questioned.

His emotions were shifting around. I could tell he was trying to process everything. Trying to work out how he felt about all this new information he had just gained. People did this a lot when they found out something new. Their emotions either changed or they stayed the same. I kept a close eye on his emotions. His anger disappeared completely, well his anger towards me at least. Edward always had anger in him, it was usually directed at himself. He has a lot of trouble accepting what he is. He has a constant battle with himself believing that he is a monster with no soul. I guess you'd call him somewhat suicidal. That one event could tip him over the edge. Luckily we weren't easily killed. He finally settled back into his usual emotions with some hope slowly rising.

"So?" I repeated his earlier sentiment.

"Can I," a pause, his hope still rising. "Am I allowed to talk to Bella? I know you have claim on her but I'd like to talk to her, get to know her."

All that kept on repeating in my head was, Edward plus Bella talking equaled them falling in love.

"Not yet," I told him and his hope disappeared immediately. "I don't think she's ready emotionally, but when she starts getting better then I don't see why you can't."

That was vague. His hope returned a little. Good. The way I see it when Bella does get better I can forbid him again if need be, but for now he could live with the hope that someday he'd be able to talk to Bella. Maybe this claiming thing was a good idea after all.

"Well that was boring," Emmett said as he finally made his presence known. "I mean, no fighting, nothing. I'm disappointed," And he was, very disappointed, I almost felt sorry for him.

"We handled it like men Emmett," I winked at him, he frowned at me.

"What are you getting at Jasper?" He asked me confused, agitated.

"What?" I feigned confusion. "Nothing."

"Jasper-" He began but I cut him off, it was fun to play with Emmett.

"Rose is giving off some pretty heavy lust," and just like that Emmett was gone, it worked every time.

"Jasper," Rosalie hissed from upstairs. Ah, she wouldn't be complaining for long.

"So, are we good?" I asked Edward, his emotions said that we were, but I asked him anyway.

"Yeah," he was distant, must be thinking about something.

"Cool." No more Edward to worry about, for now.

"Jasper," Alice said as she came over to us. It seemed that her and Rose had disappeared upstairs whilst Edward and I had our little talk, whilst Emmett had waited just outside the front door.

"Yes," I smiled at her.

"Tomorrow." I raised my eyebrow, this better not be about the future, her emotions were playful, yep she definitely was up to no good. She leant in to whisper in my ear. "Make sure you're by Bella and her truck tomorrow morning, okay? It's very important."

"Okay," I accepted. I didn't question her. I guess I'd just see tomorrow why I was supposed to be by Bella's side in the morning. In a way it was like Christmas Eve. You have some idea of what you're getting, what was happening, but it was a surprise, and that's how I liked to look at it. Tomorrow would be a surprise. Who am I kidding? I had to think of it this way otherwise I'd be all over Alice demanding what was going to happen tomorrow. So yes, a surprise, regarding Bella, tomorrow morning. Now I just had to wait until tomorrow. Oh, it was going to be a long night.

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><p><strong>AN- **So Bella has her date with Tyler's van tomorrow morning, we know that, Jasper clearly doesn't, it's a surprise, so ssshhh!

Review and I'll try and update tomorrow. The van scene's up first and it's going to be way different to anything you've read before, I reckon, I mean I haven't read every single Twilight story there is, so... Review.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing if you reviewed, much appreciated.

Bella and Jasper are mates, Jasper just doesn't know it yet. Just thought I'd clear that up as some of you were asking about it.

Enjoy

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><p>School again. We were in the parking lot, standing by Edward's Volvo. Just waiting. Alice was standing under an umbrella, it was raining, barely. She coerced Edward to join her underneath. I just stood there. Brown cowboy boots, a new pair of tight fitting jeans, a grey long sleeve undershirt, and a plain darker grey t-shirt. Bella still had my new motorcycle jacket it seemed and I hadn't bought a new one since I burnt my old ones. It's not like we needed them, but the humans found it unnerving when it was cold and we weren't wearing many layers. I didn't really care though. Bella finally pulled into the parking lot, truthfully you could hear her truck a mile away. I guess Charlie decided to give it to her, good for him. She pulled into a spot across the lot and I began walking over to her. I was halfway across the lot when I saw her bend down and look at her tires, weird.<p>

"Nice truck," I said once I was close enough. She stood up and looked at me confused.

"Really?" She didn't seem convinced.

"Sure," I looked at the truck. It wasn't bad, a little old, but it looked sturdy and it obviously ran, so that's always good. "I don't like the color, but other than that, it's good."

"What are you," she began but paused, "What are you doing here?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly, "Can't I say hi?"

"Not to my knowledge," she smiled at me. I quickly ran through all the conversations I'd previously had with Bella and she was right, I had never said hi to her.

"Well you have me there," I smiled back and her smile turned into a smirk. So far so good. I tested her emotions, I got a small glimpse. She was feeling playful, definitely in a good mood.

We just stood there, staring at each other. Waiting for the bell to ring. I heard it first, the skidding of tires on the icy ground. My head shot up, faster than humanly possible. I could see Tyler's van skidding, he was trying to regain control of it. Bella was alerted to the fact now and she turned towards the van. I suddenly prayed that she'd feel fear, shock, something. I hoped that today wouldn't be the day that I found out she was suicidal. That she didn't care if she died. The van got closer, I kept my eyes on it, but I focused on Bella's emotions. It was now heading for us, there was no doubt it would hit us, it was going too fast. I wasn't going to do anything, not unless I felt her fear. I nearly gave up hope that she would react, but I finally felt some fear, but it was overpowered by sadness. I knew I had to step in.

I pulled her to me, held her tightly. "Close your eyes," I whispered to her as she buried her head into my chest, and then I waited. Waited for the van to be right on top of us. When it was close enough I outstretched my leg. The van hit my granite foot and bended around it. Not long later it came to a stop right where my foot connected with it. A foot away from us. Bella was fine, she shouldn't be fine, she should be dead. I didn't hesitated as I broke the glass window of the van. I thought it out fully, Alice needed to see my decision, she did. I could feel the rest of my family moving away from the scene. When they were far enough away I grabbed a sharp piece of glass and ran it down Bella's arm. Slicing it open. She hissed out in pain, it was small, but oh yes she felt that. Pain was radiating through her body. I dropped the piece of glass. I don't know why I did it but I just knew that she shouldn't have came out of this accident unscathed. She would just think her arm went through the window, not that I purposely cut her.

The blood was running down her arm. It didn't bother me. It was like smelling a freshly baked apple pie. Sure I wanted a piece, but I could hold off. There would be more apple pies in my future. She pulled back from me suddenly and looked into my eyes. Terror coursing through her with a small piece of disbelief. I cocked my eyebrow at her, why was she scared? I stepped back and pulled my dark grey t-shirt off and wrapped it around her bleeding wound. Her terror disappeared and was replaced with disbelief and some form of acceptance. I held the shirt to her wound tightly, it was quickly filling up with blood. I held her wound closed, my fingers would leave bruises, but I stemmed the blood flow completely.

"I don't like the smell of blood," she whispered.

I laughed at that, of course she could smell blood. I could smell blood as well.

"Why?" I was keeping the mood light, "It smells good to me, mouthwatering even."

I felt a small wave of disgust from her. I was waiting for her to say, do you want a taste then, but thankfully she never did. If I was offered her blood, well, I'd have to accept, it's only the polite thing to do. The world suddenly decided to come back to us and we were surrounded by a group of people and a cacophony of sounds. I pulled Bella back against my chest and held her tightly. I didn't need her getting overwhelmed right now. The ambulance arrived and they tried to pry Bella from my arms, I wasn't having any of that.

"It's just a cut," I told them as I got into the back of the ambulance, sitting Bella in my lap. "I have the bleeding stemmed, my father, Dr. Carlisle Cullen will be looking at her." I could tell that they wanted to protest, but they didn't.

We arrived at the hospital. I set Bella on her feet and we made our way into emergency. My grip on her arm never loosened. The blood was still stopped, but as soon as I let go it would start flowing again. We were led to a bed. I sat down first and pulled Bella into my lap. I liked having her close, it was comforting knowing that she was in my arms. She seemed to shy away from the bright fluorescents and she buried her head into my chest. I put the hand I wasn't using around her and held her close to me.

"Bella! Bella!" Charlie's frantic cries came as he entered emergency.

"Over here Charlie," I waved him over as soon as he was in sight. I tested his emotions. He was feeling concerned, fearful, dread, panic, and agony. Definitely not a good mix.

"How is she? What happened? Is she okay?" Charlie asked me and I knew I had to answer him quickly, he needed to get rid of most of his negative emotions quickly before they had a bad effect on him.

"She's fine Charlie, just a little shocked. We were standing by her truck when Tyler lost control of his van. I grabbed Bella and thankfully the van stopped about a foot from us, we were very lucky. Bella's arm did go through Tyler's window though. She has a small cut on her arm, it's not that big."

He seemed to calm down instantly, but not completely. He bent down so that he was eye level with Bella.

"Bella," he said softly, "Bells." Bella shifted her head slightly so that she could look at her father, he moved the hair out of her face. "Are you alright?" He asked her.

"I'm fine dad," she answered and Charlie's negative emotions disappeared immediately and were replaced with hope and gratitude.

"Thank you Jasper," he spoke to me as he stood up. "Thank you for looking out for her."

"No problem."

I could hear Carlisle now, he was heading this way.

"He won't let anyone look at her, only you," a nurse was telling him.

"Who?" Carlisle asked her confused.

"Your son," she answered, "There was an accident at the school, Chief Swan's daughter was involved, her arm is bleeding."

"Okay, okay," I could feel Carlisle's concern for Bella. "Well I'm here now, I'll take care of it straight away." Carlisle came through the doors and immediately made his way over to us. "Chief," he said as he clapped Charlie on the shoulder. "Jasper," he nodded at me. "What do we have here?"

He wasn't talking to Bella yet. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing yet.

"Bella's arm got cut on some glass from Tyler's van," I answered. "I've stemmed the bleeding for now."

"Okay," Carlisle grabbed a stool, put on some gloves and sat down. "Let's have a look." I slowly let go of her arm and the blood began flowing again.

"Oh god," Charlie said as he looked towards the ceiling. It seemed as though he didn't like blood either, just like Bella, I found that hilarious.

"Hold it again," Carlisle instructed me, "Tightly. I'll go and get everything we need to stitch it up."

I grabbed Bella's arm and held it tightly. Charlie cautiously looked back at Bella's arm and had a sigh of relief when he didn't notice any blood.

"Doesn't that bother you Jasper? The blood?" Charlie asked me.

"No," I answered and he looked at me confused, right, I had to elaborate. "I'm used to blood Charlie, I've seen a lot of it in my lifetime."

"Oh," Charlie's face paled, I guess he was thinking about my scars again. "Right."

Carlisle came back and I let go of Bella's arm so he could stitch it up. Bella was good. I only got discomfort from her, no pain, and I don't think she was suppressing it.

"There we go, all done," Carlisle said after he wrapped her arm in a bandage. "Good as new, well, almost." Carlisle turned his attention to me. "Was the glass dirty? Do I need to give Bella a Tetanus shot?"

Bella's grip tightened, she was grabbing my shirt hard. "Yeah," I answered and I felt a small bit of hurt from Bella, where'd that come from? "Tyler's a teenage boy," I explained, "I doubt he kept his windows clean. Better to be safe than sorry." Bella seemed to relax, the hurt disappeared.

"Okay," Carlisle disappeared again.

"Are you alright Jasper? You're not hurt are you?" Charlie turned his concern towards me now that Bella was all stitched up.

"I'm fine Charlie, I swear," he seemed to relax.

Carlisle came back with the needle and I felt some fear from Bella. I so desperately wanted to send her some calm but I had promised myself that I wasn't going to manipulate her emotions. I couldn't, not when she was so emotionally damaged. Worse case scenario, she'd come to rely on it and I couldn't have that. I just held her tightly and her fear lessened a fraction.

"There we go, all done," Carlisle smiled at her. "Let me go and fill out the paperwork. Charlie?"

"Ah, yeah, okay," Charlie reluctantly tore his eyes off Bella and left the room with Carlisle.

Bella slid off my lap and rested back against the raised pillows. She stayed quiet and I stayed where I was sitting.

I could feel Rose's frantic emotions outside the door and then I heard her.

"How is she?" Rose asked Carlisle.

"Give me a minute Charlie," Carlisle said and I could hear him and Rosalie moving away.

"How's Bella? Is she okay?" Rose was concerned.

"Bella's fine, just a few stitches. She will be alright," Carlisle reassured her and Rosalie seemed to calm down. I tuned them out.

I subconsciously reached into my pocked and pulled out a coin. I began playing with it absentmindedly. Flipping it across my knuckles. Back and forth. Back and forth. I wondered how my other siblings reacted by my clear disregard to the rules we followed for our safety. I saved a human girl. I risked our secret just because of Bella. Was she even worth it? Of course she was, I knew that, but did the rest of my family. Rose was concerned, no anger, so I guess she was fine. Alice would be fine, her and Bella were supposed to be best friends after all. Esme wouldn't care, I could tell that she already loved Bella. Carlisle seemed fine with my decision. All that left was Emmett and Edward. I had no idea how Emmett felt about Bella, he did come to Phoenix with me, but he could have just went for the adventure. Emmett liked to keep his feelings guarded when it came to new people, so I didn't know what his deal was with Bella. And Edward? Well I had no idea. He was always unpredictable.

"Stop," Bella said as she rested her hand on top of mine. I had been playing with the coin all this time. "Everything will be alright?" How could she know that? I turned to face her. Something in her eyes just told me that she was right. I don't know how, but she believed this to be true. She grabbed the coin out of my hand and examined it closely. It was a half dollar minted in 1861, it had the Confederate States of America written on it instead of the United States of America. It was my lucky coin. I kept it on me always. It reminded me of my past, my past before Maria. "Figures," Bella said as she handed the coin back to me. What the hell did she mean by that? Damn girl would be the death of me. I suddenly wished that I was a mind reader, though Edward couldn't read her mind so it'd be useless.

I was about to question her when we were joined by Carlisle and Charlie. I quickly re-pocketed the coin.

"Good news, you can go home Bella," Carlisle smiled at her, she frowned.

"Can't I go back to school?" She whispered head cast downwards.

"I think you should take it easy today."

"Is Jasper going to school?" Bella glanced at me.

"No, Jasper needs to rest as well," Carlisle responded smiling at me.

"What?" I asked him confused.

"You hit your head pretty hard Jasper, you need to take it easy." I was still confused, so was Bella. Carlisle lifted Bella's chart and hit me across the head with it, hard. Okay now I was getting angry. "See." No, I didn't see. "You had a hard knock to the head. Now Charlie has to go back to work and seeing as how you both need to take it easy, well you're going to both go to Chief Swan's house and take it easy. Understand?"

"Yes," I mumbled. Bella and I alone in Chief Swan's house, what the hell was I supposed to do for the next six or so hours.

Chief Swan took us home in his cruiser and I promised Bella that Emmett would bring her truck home for her so she didn't have to worry about it. It began raining pretty hard on the ride back and we had to run inside, Charlie stayed inside the cruiser, after warning me to be good. Right. We made it inside and Bella shut the door, thankfully we didn't get that wet. I shook myself, akin to a dog, to get all the water droplets off. This seemed to amuse Bella greatly. I smiled at her.

"What do you do here?" I asked her, we were still in the hallway. Bella shrugged her shoulders in response. "How's your arm?" I asked her and she shrugged again. "Need any painkillers?" She shook her head no. I frowned. Why was she being silent all of a sudden? It didn't make sense. "Okay, well you do what you want, I'm gonna lay down." I collapsed on the couch and closed my eyes. I guess I would be doing nothing eventful today.

I kept my mind focused on Bella. She stood there, shifted from foot to foot for a minute, then she disappeared upstairs. I took note and it seemed that she was sitting on her bed. I heard nothing from her so I shut everything off and sent myself a sleep cocktail, at least I'd be able to make the time go fast now. I don't know how much time passed but I eventually opened my eyes. Feeling refreshed enough to 'wake up'. I looked to my right and Bella was just sitting there, staring at me. Weird.

"What?" I asked her confused, making no move to sit up.

"Why are your eyes gold?" She asked me, she was nervous.

"I don't know, genetics, my special diet, you decide. It's just what they are." Suitable question, no humans had golden eyes. "Any other questions?" She shook her head no. "How long was I asleep?"

"Three hours."

Right, so that would make it lunchtime. "You got anything to eat?"

"Nothing that you can have." I frowned at her. "You're allergic to almost everything." Right.

"Are you going to eat?" I asked her and she shook her head no. "Right, well I'm going back to sleep, wake me up if anything exciting happens."

I turned away from her and faced the back of the couch. I closed my eyes and went to sleep again. Well I didn't actually sleep this time. Bella never moved from the coffee table and I could feel her eyes on me the whole time. I made it an hour before I turned back around and faced her.

"What?" I asked her confused.

"You're beautiful," she blurted out before blushing, she was clearly embarrassed.

Beautiful? "I've never been called beautiful before," I admitted. It was nice.

"It's a good word," she continued, her embarrassment had disappeared now. "You can only be handsome in your looks, whereas you can have a beautiful heart, a beautiful soul, a beautiful mind, not just being beautiful in looks." I waited for her to clarify in which aspect she believed me to be beautiful but she never did. "Why do you sleep?" She asked me, she was confused. I was enjoying being able to read her emotions like a normal person.

"Because I'm bored," I answered her, "It helps fill in the time."

"Oh." Was she thinking something different? "And you sleep?"

"Sure," well it was the closest I could come. "Can we do something?" I pleaded her. "Anything?" We still had a couple of hours before school would be out.

"Sure," she answered. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "You choose." She scrunched up her face. "How's your arm?" I asked her as she was thinking. "Any pain?"

"It's fine, no pain, and stop asking," I tested her emotions and she was telling the truth.

"Do you trust me?" I asked her suddenly.

"I don't know."

"Do you trust that I have your best interests at heart?" I rephrased the question.

"Sure."

_Please don't let this go wrong_. I grabbed her uninjured forearm in my hand. I stared at her. I kept her emotions in the forefront of my mind. I dug my nails into her arm, not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough that she'd feel it. I felt a flash of pain from her but it disappeared. I dug in a little harder and she didn't even flinch. It seemed as though she had a great tolerance for pain. I let her arm go. I wrapped my hand around the spot I had just grabbed and soothed any pain she may have.

"Do you feel pain?" I asked her, she nodded her head. "Do you know how to deal with pain after the initial contact? Make it disappear?" She nodded her head again. I let go of her arm, you couldn't even see where I dug my nails in anymore.

She took a deep breath. "Do you know what happened to me?" She seemed desperate now.

"Some," I replied.

"And you don't care?" She asked me confused.

"No." Why would I? It's not like she asked for this.

"Why not?" She questioned me.

"Why?" I shot back. "Everyone goes through something traumatic in their lives. I know I have." She wasn't convinced. "I," I faltered. "Here," I said as I pulled up my sleeve to show her my scars.

She reached out tentatively and ran her fingers over them, as many as she could reach. I tried to get a read on her emotions, all I could get from her was sadness, nothing else. I pulled my sleeve back down, not wanting to feel her touch anymore.

"Sorry," she apologized automatically.

"Have you thought of anything to do yet?" I asked her and she shook her head no. Great. "Well aren't we the two most interesting people in the world. Go and grab me a book at least. Do you have books?"

"Sure," she disappeared up the stairs.

What the hell was happening? We were stuck at some kind of weird impasse. We weren't friends. We were anything really. And this seemed to unhinge us when we were alone together with no one to act as a buffer. Maybe I should keep my distance from now on, just help her from afar and stay out of her life. I don't know. Why couldn't things just be easy? Why didn't we just click? It was almost like pulling nails when we were alone and I had no idea why. At least I'd be able to read until I could leave. I loved reading and it'd be a good distraction from Bella.

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><p><strong>AN- **Okay review and tell me what you thought


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N- **Thanks to everyone who reviewed :)

You all have such little faith in me, haha, not to worry though. The reason why Jasper was acting the way he was around Bella last chapter will be discussed in this chapter and hopefully you guys will be able to understand him better. Plus the next chapter which I've set up at the end of this one, well that's going to be the chapter where a lot of your questions will be answered and a lot of your suspicions will be confirmed.

Enjoy

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><p>It was the following day. As soon as three o'clock came around I left Bella's house and I was glad. I couldn't understand why we didn't click when we were alone, and that was the reason I was skipping school today. I didn't want it to be awkward between us again. I wanted to figure out my thoughts first. Everyone had left for school and Carlisle had left for work. I told them all I was going to leave late, they believed me. I knew I couldn't spend the whole day in bed, no, I had to figure this out, I couldn't avoid Bella forever. I made my way down the stairs and into the living room. Esme was there with her craft table set up and she jumped in surprise when she saw me.<p>

"Jasper what are you doing home?" She asked me concerned.

"Nothing, just had a bad day yesterday."

"Here," she said as she rushed off and got a chair from the kitchen, placing in on the other side of the table from where she was sitting, "Sit with me."

"Okay," I sat down. "What are you making?" I looked at all the stuff on the table I didn't know what the hell she was doing.

"Paper lanterns," she told me smiling brightly. "They look good, plus you can put candles in them. Make one with me?"

"Okay," I accepted, "But don't blame me if I screw it up."

She smiled at me as she slid what appeared to be instructions across to me. I read them quickly, they seemed pretty simple. I grabbed a red sheet of paper and drew the appropriate lines on it. These lines needed to be cut. I began slicing the paper with my fingernail.

"Jasper," Esme admonished me, "Please, use the scissors."

"Can I use a knife and that green cutting mat thingy you're using?" I asked her. I didn't see why I couldn't use my nail.

"Sure." She slid it across to me. I began slicing the paper, with the knife this time. "So, do you want to tell me what happened yesterday? I assume it has something to do with Bella. Carlisle told me that it was his and Charlie's idea that you and Bella should spend some time together."

Carlisle and Charlie conspired to get Bella and I alone, weird.

"Yeah, well everything was fine. I saved Bella. Being at the hospital was fine, but then as soon as we were alone, I don't know, it all fell apart." I had finished cutting my lantern. "What do I do now?" I asked her confused.

"Stick it together, like this," she showed me and I copied her, "No, use the glue." Right. "Jasper you're not exactly a conversationalist, you know that right?"

"What?" I asked her confused as I tried to get the damn glue to stick.

"You spent the first century of your vampire life in a war. I doubt you talked to anyone, with the exception of Peter. You just took orders, did what you were told. Then you escaped and you spent only a small amount of time with Peter and Charlotte before you went off on your own. Then you met Alice, and even then you took a backseat to everything. We both know Alice can talk enough for two people."

"What are you getting at?" The lantern finally stuck together making a cylinder of sorts.

"You don't know how to act around others Jasper. You would rather just sit in silence and observe rather than talking. Maybe that's why it was so awkward with Bella."

Hmm, maybe she was right. I didn't talk to people much, and I didn't talk to humans at all, well until recently. I had already found that talking to humans was completely different to talking to vampires. You had to explain everything to humans, whereas you could give the cliff notes version to a vampire and they'd know what you were talking about. So what? I was just out of practice? Maybe.

"Or you could just simply be blinded by your intentions," Esme added.

"How the hell do you get this to look like that?" I asked as I motioned to Esme's perfect fricken lantern.

"You're supposed to fold the paper in half first," Esme told me. I looked at the instructions, she was right, damn it.

"How do I fix it?" She held out her hand and I handed it over to her. She began folding each bit of paper in half, one by one. She did a few and then handed it back to me. Right. "What do you mean, blinded by my intentions?"

"You don't know what you want Jasper. You're afraid. You don't realize that you can have Bella as a friend without her being your mate, without falling in love with her. You keep thinking that it's all or nothing and it doesn't have to be that way at all. You're thinking way too much, just go with the flow. Let your worries go. Would you be against having Bella as a mate if she turned out to be your mate?"

Would I? Well no, I mean if she's my mate then clearly we're meant to be together, I wouldn't deny myself that.

"She's human Esme, a human, our food source, it's wrong. That would be like her being mated to an animal, see crazy. Have you ever seen a vampire with a human mate before?" I had finally finished folding all my paper and it was beginning to look like Esme's. I looked at the instructions to see what was next. Cut a paper circle for the bottom, okay.

"No, I've never seen it before, but Carlisle has. One of the Volturi guard I believe, you'd have to ask Carlisle for the details."

"And the Volturi were okay with this?" I asked her confused. The Volturi had one rule and one rule only, don't alert humans to the fact that we exist. Surely this would violate that.

"No. They changed the human into a vampire." Bella as a vampire, I could not see that at all. Esme must have seen my reaction. "If Bella is your mate then you're going to have to change her one day. Mates have to spend eternity together, they can never be apart. Anyway getting back on point, Bella is a human, yes, but you need to remember that you were a human once too Jasper."

Well that was right. If Bella and I had grown up at the same time then there would be no reason we couldn't date, that we couldn't be each others soul mates.

"How do you tell?" I asked her as I glued the circle in place. Damn glue, it didn't stick together, plus it was all over my fingers, worst invention ever. "I've felt the emotions between you and Carlisle but they don't match my own towards Bella."

"Jasper everyone reacts differently and you can't teach someone, you just know." There was a pause. "I think you're not open to falling in love with Bella and that's why everything is so awkward. You need to decided what you want. If you're going to let Bella in. If you are open to a relationship with her. You figure these things out and everything will become clearer, you'll see."

Okay, figure out what I wanted, I could do that. My finger stuck to the paper and when I pulled it away it ripped the lantern in half. God damn it. I scrunched the paper lantern up and threw it across the room. What did I want? I knew I wanted to sit here with Esme a bit longer, I was enjoying her company.

"Can I make a paper airplane?" I asked her hopefully.

"I don't see how that's going to help with Bella," Esme smiled at me, "But sure."

She rushed upstairs and came back with some paper. I grabbed a sheet off the top and began folding it. I had never made a paper plane before, but I had seen others do it at school. It couldn't be that hard. I began folding. Bella. What did I want from Bella? For her to get better. Why? Because... Because... I didn't even know anymore. After spending lunch with her and Angela well I realized that maybe this would work on another level. Maybe we could be friends. I'd like to be her friend, I think. Charlie and I were friends and that was fine. Charlie and I could talk and we had no problems. So yes, I'd like to be Bella's friend. I finished the plane and threw it across the room. It went a few feet and then dropped. I went back to the drawing board.

I grabbed a new piece of paper, working out a new design. So I'd be friends with Bella. I'd enjoy that, but did I want more. Would I be open to more if that's what she offered me. I knew I had to figure that out first. I couldn't get past the fact that she was human, but Esme said it had been done before, I'd just have to change her. I guess if we're mates then we'd both want her to became a vampire so we could live together forever. But here and now was what I needed to focus on. I tried to think of Bella in that way, as my mate. What would I do if she kissed me? How would I feel? I ran it through my head, well I wouldn't be opposed to that at all. Bella was beautiful. She wasn't model perfect, but she had the girl next door working for her. She wasn't plain, not to me. Her brown hair and eyes didn't seem dull to me.

"Ahem," Esme said as she cleared her throat and shifted on her chair. Oh, I was projecting my lust, whoops. I reigned it in immediately.

"Sorry," I apologized.

Well I guess I had my answer, and Esme was right. I needed to stop thinking and just hang around her, be myself, and then we'd figure out if we are mated or not. I basically had to pull the huge stick out of my ass, yeah and give it back to Edward, I laughed out loud and Esme smiled at me.

"Come up with a decision yet?" Esme asked me, still smiling.

"Yeah, I'm going to try and woo her," I smiled back at her, "And see how that goes. You're right I'm not committing myself to her. I can 'date' her and see if we get along."

"I'm proud of you son." I smiled at her.

"Hey what are you making?" I asked her confused.

"Origami, it's a crane," Esme held it up to show me. It was like a paper bird, cool. "It's said that if you fold one thousand of these you are granted one wish from a crane. I've always wanted to do it. Do you want to do it with me?"

How could I deny her, she was so happy.

"Sure," I answered, "But what are we going to do with 2,000 paper cranes when we've finished?"

"You could give them to Bella. The Japanese also say that if you give them as a gift then you can give happiness and prosperity to the person who receives it."

"Wouldn't that mean we don't get our wish?"

"Probably."

"I don't think Bella would appreciate it, though I'd love to see Charlie's face as he enters his daughter's room and there's 2,000 cranes hanging from the ceiling." Poor Charlie. "How about we fold them, keep the wish for ourselves, and hang them up in Emmett's room." Oh that'd be so funny.

"I'm game if you are," Esme smiled at me, I could feel her excitement.

"Let's do this." I picked up my paper plane and threw it. It went further than the first one but the design still needed more work. I'd have to work on it later. I had to fold 1,000 cranes right now.

Esme cut the paper up into squares, 2,000 squares, it looked like a lot. Thankfully we had vampire speed, it shouldn't take too long. Esme went through the process of all the folds that needed to be made and I memorized them. The first one I made was a little dodgy but it still looked like a crane, I kept on going. We kept silent the whole time, but when we were nearing the end Esme spoke.

"I hope you're going to school tomorrow," I frowned, why would she care, we had fun today, didn't we? "It's Bella's birthday, I thought you'd like to wish her a happy birthday."

Bella's birthday? Right, tomorrow, September 13th, I remember reading that in the police file in Phoenix. "Yes, I'll be there," I reassured her. Now I just had to think of the perfect gift for Bella. Something that'd she'd like. Something she'd get good use out of. And hopefully something that would help her heal further. I'd have to think about it.

We finished the cranes. Esme ran upstairs and came back with a whole lot of string. Where the hell did she keep all of this stuff? In her and Carlisle's room? Probably not. We tied different length strings to all 2,000 of the cranes, it took nearly as long. I was physically tired when we had finished.

"Do we make our wishes now?" I asked Esme.

"I guess," she closed her eyes.

I followed suit and closed my eyes. What was I supposed to say? What was I supposed to wish for? _Japanese... gods, I, umm, folded one thousand cranes, I wish... I wish... I wish that Bella and I could... just figure this whole thing out, between us. Thanks_. Oh yeah that was very clear and concise Jasper. I should have just wished for world peace of something. I opened my eyes and Esme was looking at me proudly.

"Let's hang these up, quickly," I told Esme. We grabbed as many as we could and took them upstairs. "How the hell are we going to do this?"

"Jasper, no swearing," Esme frowned at me. "How about I stand on your shoulders, we should reach then, and you pass them to me. I've very good with the staple gun."

"Okay," it sounded good to me.

We got into a rhythm after the first 200 and the remaining 1,800 seemed to fly by, thankfully. When we were done we stood back and took a look. It looked good. There were paper cranes everywhere. I knew Rose would like it, but Emmett would probably hate it. I just have to wait and see. They'd be getting home from school shortly. It took forever to make all those cranes. I could hear them enter the driveway and Esme stared panicking.

"Jasper, quick, help me with the table," she was frantic.

I ran down the stairs and helped her pick everything up. I followed her back up the stairs and she seemed to enter the attic. We had an attic? It was filled with crap. It was like it was Esme's own little craft store, strange. We put everything down and ran back down the stairs, they were just pulling into the garage.

"You ass," Rosalie said as soon as she saw me. I was confused. She came over to me and hit me hard, hard enough for me to hit the ground.

"What the hell?" I asked her confused, as I stood back up. She dislocated my jaw and I put it back in place.

"You abandoned Bella today, how do you think she felt when you didn't show up today, did you even think about her, no." Oh yes Rose was pissed, and for good reason.

"I told her you were sick," Alice told me, she was grasping Edward's arm, he didn't seem to be paying any attention to her though.

"Yeah," Rose scoffed, "She didn't believe it, I could see that. You'll be lucky if she even talks to you tomorrow. I know I wouldn't." Rose was right. Now tomorrow's birthday present had to be even more perfect. I can't believe I just ditched her. She probably thinks that I've given up hope on her. Damn it. No more stupidity. I was not going to screw this up anymore. I couldn't. Rose must have sensed what I was feeling. That or I was projecting. "Good," she said, she was satisfied with my response it seemed.

"Who the hell has been in my room?" I heard Emmett yell and I looked at Esme. She was so happy. "Oh, look they're little birds. Rosie, Rosie, come look at all the little birds, aren't they so cute? Can we keep them please?"

Oh Emmett, he never reacted how you thought he would. It was still enjoyable, plus the whole day had helped me out a lot with getting my feelings towards Bella straight. I was feeling good, well with the exception of ditching Bella today. How could I be so stupid?

"Yes you are stupid," Edward smiled at me.

"You can hear my thoughts?" I asked him confused.

"Yes."

What? I had thought yesterday that Bella was protecting those who thought about her, if that was the case, I had screwed up badly. Maybe she didn't care about me anymore. Damn. Deep breath. Focus on the present. Bella's birthday present in present time, haha. Lame. Focus. Surely I had some other plans I was going to use to help Bella. One stuck out, music. Maybe I could buy Bella an iPod, load some songs onto it for her, make her a playlist that will help her heal. Hope filled songs maybe.

"I'll go buy it," Alice smiled at me, "You work on what music you want to put on it."

"Alice don't go getting a fancy color, or a fancy design, keep it simple." Would she even listen to me.

"I've got it. Edward you can help me, you like music." Edward sighed but he went along with her anyway. Good.

Now all I had to do was focus on the music and the playlist, no shopping for me today, I was beyond happy with that. I went up to my room and turned on my computer. I figured I'd just put all my music on there if it'd fit. I didn't know what Bella liked but I'd let her know that I was willing to put anything she wanted on there for her. I began working on the playlist. Putting in a few of my favorite songs. Some songs the reminded me of the sun down South. A few hope filled songs. And two originals, just me with my acoustic, singing, hopefully she'd like them. With the playlist done I just had to wait for Alice and Edward to get back.

I decided to do a search for Victoria Burns seeing as I had my computer on. A whole bunch of news articles came up and they all said the same thing, missing, presumed dead. Well that led me nowhere and gave me no answers at all. She had been missing for twenty years. Maybe James killed her. Maybe James was planning on killing Bella too. I don't know. I'd need to find out. I wondered if I could ask Bella about it, when she was talking to me again. Maybe that was too forward.

Alice and Edward finally came back and I was happy to see that she didn't get the most expensive. It was dark blue in color but it didn't stand out, it looked good. I synced all the songs onto it and made sure the playlist was all set. I debated whether or not to wrap it but I decided against it. If Bella wasn't talking to me then she definitely wouldn't unwrap my present. This way I could just hand it to her and she'd immediately see what it was. I was happy with my present and my plan. I grabbed a book, just willing tomorrow to come quickly.

School. Finally. It was still raining heavily. It had been raining for the past three days, ever since the van incident. It was weird actually. Non-stop. Day and night. Our whole backyard was a muddy swamp. I had never seen so much rain in my life. Thankfully we had a garage, so I wouldn't be getting wet until school. I still didn't have a jacket, or a rain jacket for that matter. I made my way down the stairs.

"Here," Alice said as she handed me a black rain jacket, "It's raining pretty heavily, you're going to need it."

"Thanks," I put it on.

"And here," Carlisle said as he handed me something. I looked down, it was my license. Good news. It looks like Charlie came through. "Charlie said I could give it back to you. He said you can drive again, but he did mention something about a shovel, he said you'd know what he was talking about."

The shovel, right. I'd love to see Charlie scrape me off the road with a shovel. He couldn't even look at Bella's bleeding arm. Bella's arm. I had cut her, on purpose. Another reason I shouldn't have ditched her yesterday.

"I'll have to thank him when I see him next," I shoved my license in my pocket where it belonged, it was good to have it back.

We made it to school and there was mud everywhere, plus the rain still hadn't let up. Bella must have been avoiding me because I hadn't seen her all day. I knew she was here though. Rose kept on warning me not to screw it up further. It was finally lunchtime. I knew I'd see Bella as it was still raining so she'd have to eat inside. I walked in, iPod in my pocket. She was sitting at her usual table but Angela wasn't there yet. I walked over to her. She seemed to sense me coming and she stiffened up. I stood next to her, not wanting to sit down without an invitation.

"Happy birthday," I whispered to her as I pulled the iPod out of my pocket and sat it on the table in front of her, she didn't look at me. "I put a bunch of songs on there... I didn't know what you liked, but just let me know and I'll get them for you and put them on, no worries," she was still silent. I'm such an idiot. Just say what you have to and then leave, yes. "I made a playlist for you, entitled Bella, listen to it when you're alone." Still silent. "I'm sorry..." I wanted to apologize for something, but there seemed like there was too many things I was sorry for so I left it at that.

I ran, yes, I literally ran from a human girl. I was stressed and I was pissed, not at Bella but at myself. I walked straight to the bathrooms closest to the cafeteria, they were the old ones, no one really used them anymore. I approached the sink and pulled out a cigarette from my pocket and lit it up. I took a drag. Ah, this always seemed to calm me down. Plus no side effects. I just liked the actions of smoking. Lighting it up. Taking drag after drag until it's completely burnt. I don't know. I'm probably just weird. A vampire who enjoys smoking.

I heard a loud rumbling and the building began to shake violently. I spun around quickly, too quickly. I wasn't paying attention. I was an idiot. I just wanted to turn towards the sound. Get a heads up on whatever was happening, but none of that happened. I stupidly sliced my back open, my nails digging right in. I severed my spinal cord, usually not a problem, but before I could even react, the building collapsed around me. Right on top of me. What was that? An earthquake? I tried to move, I couldn't. I turned to look behind me. Venom was oozing from my wound but that wasn't the problem. A large metal support beam that was holding up the roof was now lodged into my back preventing me from healing my severed spinal cord. My venom was trying to force the beam out of my but it was no use. I was growing weaker by the second.

I was paralyzed from the waist down and I had no idea what I was going to do. There was another loud rumble, different this time, longer, louder. It sounded as though it was coming towards me. I just laid there, what could I do? I briefly wondered if I could die like this, with a severed spinal cord? Surely not. The sound was right on top of me and the building around me shook again. I had no idea what was happening. The walls shifted and cracked. The small bits of light I could see before were now gone. A piece of the wall in front of me, underneath the sinks, cracked and fell forward. And then it all stopped, it was silent. I was stuck in an alcove of debris it seemed. Normally I'd be able to break free easily, but with my spinal cord severed and the venom leaking from my back, I was still growing weaker as the seconds ticked past.

The dust seemed to settle.

"Jasper," came a croaky voice.

I desperately looked through the hole into what was the girls bathroom, I'd know that voice any day.

I saw her instantly. "Bella?" She didn't respond. She was lying still, too still.

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><p><strong>AN- **Dun, dun, duuuuuuuunnnnnnn... Cliffhanger of massive proportions there, sorry, haha, not really. As I said above a lot of your questions will be answered in the next chapter, so yeah you should probably review and I'll see what I can do about updating this tomorrow, so review


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N- **Sorry for the long wait, sometimes life gives you shit lemons and it's hard as hell to make good lemonade out of crappy lemons... What the hell am I talking about? Sorry for the long wait.

Enjoy

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><p>"Jasper," came a croaky voice.<p>

I desperately looked through the hole into what was the girls bathroom, I'd know that voice any day.

I saw her instantly. "Bella?" She didn't respond. She was lying still, too still. "Bella?" I tried again, still no response.

I closed my eyes and focused. I could hear her heart beating. I could hear her lungs filling up with air. Good, she was still alive, just unconscious. I sniffed the air, no blood, also a good sign. I was about to call out to Bella when the building shook again. A piece of debris fell down and hit Bella on the head. Cutting her. A small trickle of blood ran across her forehead. Her blood. It smelt good, especially in this confined space. I could feel the Major stirring. I could feel him rattling against his cage. I knew he wanted to come out. I couldn't let him. Not with Bella here. Not with her being trapped with me. Not with her bleeding. I tried desperately to keep him at bay, but it was no use. When the Major wanted to come out, he did.

_Major's POV_

The first thing I did was stretch. Ah, it was so good to be free again. A decade was too long to be locked up. I was just cracking my neck when I heard a whimper. I looked forward. Ah, Bella, Jasper's... well Jasper's pet. I sniffed, she smelt so good. So delectable. So mouthwatering. But alas Jasper would not be happy with me if I snacked on Bella. Poor little damaged Bella. She looked at me. Eyes wide. She looked scared. She looked defiant. She better choose her side and quickly. I growled at her. Impatient. She finally decided on how to act. Her fear disappeared and she was feeling empowered.

"Where's Jasper?" She asked me, no fear. I was impressed.

"Jasper's gone on a little vacation," I informed her. "You can call me the Major, or god of war, your choice."

"They're titles, not names." Ooh feisty, I can see why Jasper likes her. Little to no self-preservation this girl. "Your name is Jasper," she stated.

"If you wish," she would realize soon enough that I was nothing like Jasper.

"So, what's going on?" She asked me confused. "What happened?" She touched the cut on her forehead.

Yes, that's right, disturb the blood. I took another deep breath, letting her blood overtake me for a minute. She cleared her throat and I snapped out of it.

"Earthquake," I answered. "Coupled with a mudslide on top of that."

"A mudslide?" Confused again.

"Well, it has been raining for the past three days and this particular bathroom block is right at the back of the school, right below the mountain."

"And you're sure?" Still questioning me.

"I'm never wrong."

Her emotions seemed to flash by her, too fast for me to catch. I knew she was going to ask me another question so I waited patiently for her to ask it.

"You're not like him." Okay, so not a question.

"Jasper? Of course not."

"No, James."

James, did we know a James? James. James. James. Ah, Bella's abductor James. Well of course we were nothing like that piece of scum.

"I hate that you even compared me to him," I replied honestly.

"You know he was a vampire right?" A vampire? James? Makes sense in some twisted way. "I've been dropping Jasper hints for days now."

"Yeah, well Jasper can be dense at times." Seriously, I was going to pull the stick out of his ass myself if he didn't come around soon. He was making us look bad.

"Is anyone else trapped? Is anyone else hurt?" Bella asked me, once again surprising me.

I closed my eyes and sensed the area around me. No one was hurt. Nobody seemed to be calling out for help, but then again we weren't calling out for help either. I couldn't smell anyone's blood other than Bella's.

"No," I answered surely.

She was thinking again. "Why haven't you busted out of here yet?"

"I'm trapped."

"You're a vampire."

"Jasper is an idiot." She looked at me confused. "Jasper severed his own spinal cord in the collapse. Cut right through it with his own fingernails."

"Fingernails?"

"Just as sharp as vampire teeth, even sharper when used against oneself. Jasper tore his back open, the building collapsed, and now I have a fucking metal beam in my back preventing me from healing. In short, Jasper is an idiot."

"And you're not?"

"I would have never been able to sever my own spinal cord, you have to be a _special_ kind of vampire to do that."

"You don't like Jasper, do you?" She stated rather than asked.

"I like him, I just resent him." Speaking of Jasper. "You know what, I'm forgetting my manners and I know Jasper would kill me for taking this long, but you're okay? No injuries?" I already knew the answer.

"Aside from the cut on my head and being trapped with a vampire, oh sorry, the god of war, I'm fine."

"Good to know." Jasper's phone began to ring and I reached back and pulled it out of his pocket. Peter was calling. "Stay the fuck out of this Peter," I answered before crushing the phone in my hand and throwing the pieces away.

"You had a phone?" Bella was fixated on the pieces, shocked.

"Jasper did."

"We could have called for help." Huh, she was right. I could have called for help, well too late now. "What is our plan for escaping anyway?"

"What? Are you sick of me already?" I teased her.

"Well I do think that Jasper is better company."

Really? "Well I'm stuck here, so?"

"Do I have to do all the work? Is your family out there? Will they save us?"

"I don't have a family. The Cullen's are out there, yes. They won't do anything though, they won't risk exposure, especially when they don't know that Jasper is hurt."

"You're hurt," Bella corrected me, so annoying.

"This is Jasper's problem."

"Let him come back then."

"He's not strong enough to handle this."

"How do you know?"

"I know Jasper better than he knows himself."

"Well, I need you to focus. We need to get out of here. I'm sure Jasper doesn't want me to die in this hole, so what's the plan?"

Playing the Jasper card, smart. She must realize that the only person I care about here is Jasper.

"Well in order for my back to heal I need to get this beam out of my back long enough for everything to fuse back together."

"And?"

"And I'm too weak to lift the beam for the amount of time needed."

"And?"

"And the only way we're going to achieve this is if I get blood."

"So you need my blood?" Smart girl.

"Yes."

"Okay." It was really that simple? Ask and you shall receive?

"Okay?" I had to give her another out, no need for her to feel like I was forcing her into this.

"Yes. I really want to get out of here before this whole thing comes down. Or before the rain finds a way to get in."

"Jasper won't be happy with this." He really wouldn't. I mean aside from the fact that it was human blood in his system, it would be Bella's blood which would make it all that much worse for him.

"I'll deal with Jasper." Confident. Fine by me. If she wanted to deal with him then she could. I'd still be the one blamed though.

"Okay then, where do you want this bite?"

"How considerate of you." It was extremely considerate of me. I could have just bit her where I pleased. "My shoulder."

"You're going to have to move closer."

She slowly shifted and inched her way closer to me. A few pieces of debris fell down as she moved. Finally she was face to face with me. I guided her head to rest against my shoulder and I pulled her shirt down to reveal her shoulder.

"Wait." I stopped. Now she was scared? "This won't make me a vampire?"

"No. I have changed many humans in my life and I have, in turn, killed many humans in my life. I know how to control my venom with great skill. I will only drink your blood, no venom will come into contact with it."

"Okay." She was confident in my skills. She trusted me. There was no fear. She was stupid.

I nuzzled my nose against her shoulder and took a deep breath. She smelt so good. I didn't hesitate as I broke the skin with my teeth. I felt a pang of pain from her but it disappeared nearly instantly. I began sucking, drawing her blood into my mouth. She tasted so good. Possibly the best I've ever tasted. I kept drawing her blood in. There was a line. A thin line. A line in which I knew Jasper wouldn't want me to cross, but if I didn't cross that line, well I didn't know if I would have enough of Bella's blood in my system to give me the strength I needed to achieve what I had to do. Jasper's face kept on coming back to me and he's the reason why I pulled away. I let a little bit of venom pool on my tongue and I sealed the bite mark shut.

Bella shifted her head off my shoulder and looked up at me.

"Your eyes?" She appeared to be concerned.

"They will fade. I made sure not to take too much blood that my eyes would become red. By the time we get out of here they will be back to normal. Jasper never has to know if we don't want him to."

"I will not lie to him."

"Fine, then you can tell him that I didn't take much."

"Doesn't he know what you do in his body?"

"Not unless I want him to. I'm here to protect him."

"From what?"

"Himself mainly." I didn't care to elaborate.

"Did you take enough blood? Is your strength returning?"

"Maybe. It's going to be a stretch, but I should be able to do it. I just need the blood to work its way around my body first."

"Okay." She shifted her body. She was uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's not exactly comfortable down here."

"I can't help you with that."

"I didn't expect you to."

"Well this is interesting." Bella's blood was finally starting to settle.

"What is?"

"Nothing for you to worry about, but Jasper will be pleased with this." Yes, he'd be very pleased. It seemed like ingesting Bella's blood was clearly a good thing. She was our mate. I could see it clearly. I looked at her now and everything around her became blurry, she was my sole focus. No need to alert Bella to this fact though.

"What about you? Are you pleased with whatever this is?"

"I think it's good. Jasper deserves it, that's for sure. I'm ready."

"Okay."

"Scoot back."

She moved back further out of my way. I reached my arms back behind me. Arms outstretched. Palms facing upwards. This was going to be tough. You weren't supposed to lift things this way. I placed my hands on the beam and lifted it with a grunt. It was already straining on my arms. Bella's blood had given me some strength but not nearly enough. However I knew Jasper couldn't deal with having red eyes again, and from Bella's blood no less, so there is no way I was ingesting anymore blood today. My grip faltered slightly. There was no way I'd be able to keep this beam held up for long enough. I felt a hand on my cheek. I looked towards Bella.

"You need to focus on me. Forget about what you're doing."

I drew from her strength and pushed the beam clear of my back again.

"Talk to me. Anything," I grunted.

"Why are your eyes golden?"

"Jasper snacks on animal blood, all the Cullen's do. Human blood gives you red eyes. Animal blood gives you golden."

"And black?"

"That means the vampire is hungry, that or they're feeling some pretty heavy lust."

"Lust?"

"Yes."

"So why do they call you the god of war?"

"Sorry, that's Jasper's story to tell you."

"He showed me his scars, well some of them."

"Good for him. He'll tell you everything in time, trust me. So why don't you tell me about James, why'd he abduct you? Why'd he keep you for so long? That doesn't sound like something a vampire would do at all."

"I don't know why he abducted me, the only thing I can come up with is that he liked the look of me or something. The only reason he kept me for so long was because of the Volturi Law. Apparently you can't change a human under sixteen years of age, it's punishable by death. I was thirteen when he found me and today, well today I turned sixteen."

Wow. Talk about a hard life. Getting told you're going to be changed into a vampire for two years, then you escape and turn sixteen a month later, then nothing.

"Do you wish you were a vampire right now?" I definitely wanted to know that answer to this question.

"No." She was sure.

I shouldn't care, but I did. "Why?"

"I never wanted to become a vampire. I never wanted to be kidnapped. I never wanted my mother to be killed. Or my father to worry. I didn't want any of this. I'm not supposed to know that vampires exist."

"Okay. So how do you feel about Jasper then, he is a vampire after all."

"Jasper just, I don't know, I can tell he doesn't have expectations of me. He's not becoming my friend just because he wants me to become a vampire. He just wants to help me. Help me get better. Charlie told me that he's been through something similar before."

I scoffed. I couldn't help it.

"What Jasper went through, it's not comparable. Jasper was trapped with that bitch for a century, not two years, a fucking century." I took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not talking about this, this is not my story to tell you. Where is James now?"

"Dead."

"Really? Do you know how hard it is to kill a vampire?"

"No, but I know he's dead. I escaped twice when I was held captive and he found me both times. He kept on telling me that he was a tracker, that if I left he would find me, that he would always find me. I was his. I belonged to him and he would never give me up. So yes, I'm sure he's dead. He would never just let me go, never."

"How did he die? Do you know?"

"I heard the police officer telling my dad that he was killed in a car crash. A tanker rolled onto his car and exploded. I don't know if you can kill a vampire that way, but I know he's dead."

A tanker. If he wasn't paying attention. If it happened quick. Then yeah you could be killed that way. The tanker would have had to exploded on impact and burnt him to a crisp. Maybe his head was even severed in the crash helping things along. Vampire death by a car accident, odd, but definitely possible under the right circumstances.

"It's possible."

"It's true. So, how long until your back heals?"

"A while."

"Do you wish to ask me anything else?"

"Why are you so talkative? You never talk to Jasper this much."

"I don't know. Maybe for the fact that we're stuck down a hole and no one else can hear us. Wait, can your family hear us?"

"No. Too much mud."

"A mudslide, really?" She still didn't believe me.

"I'm sure. So how much do you know about vampires?"

"Only the things James told me. I'm starting to think he twisted a lot of things and held a lot of things back."

"Should I just tell you about vampires or do you want to tell me what you know first?"

"I don't know much. I had been captured for a while. At first I just thought he was normal, he seemed relatively normal. A psychopath, sure, but human's can be psychopaths. I knew little of him. He told me his name, James, and that was it for months. He left me be mainly. Brought me food and water. Told me he was upstairs watching the door and not to escape. I know now that he was never upstairs. The first time I escaped he was nowhere in sight. I was disorientated and I walked into the desert to the side of the house. I only walked until nightfall before he caught up with me and dragged me back. He wasn't happy with me at all."

"So, you're telling me about your time with James? You do know I didn't ask for this."

"Just shut up and heal already." Fiesty, once again. "As I was saying," she glared at me, okay then. "He brought me back, chained me up this time. I don't know how long he had me chained up but he let me free one day. I waited for a while. Weeks. I tried to get his routine down. Every now and then he'd disappear for a few days. I waited until I knew he would be gone for a while and I left. I didn't get far before, before I was stopped. I, umm, yeah, so I was caught."

She was definitely leaving something out here, something she didn't want me to know. Something she didn't want to relive.

"After that, umm, incident, I didn't try to escape again. I was chained up again, but only until I submitted fully. I began to adapt. Began to forget my life and just deal with everything. James noticed this. He began prepping me. Changing my diet. Trying to inform me on Volturi laws. However he never really told me anything about what vampires can do. All I really know is that they're cold. Some have red eyes, the human drinkers, and that James seemed to have a gift for tracking. Oh, and they have mates, like soul mates, but stronger, deeper. That's all I know."

"Okay, did he tell you about the process of becoming a vampire at all?"

"No." Well that was irresponsible.

"Well let's see. We're cold, yes. Only the Cullen's and the Denali's, a coven in Alaska, snack on animals. Most just choose to drink human blood, that or they don't know any different. We're fast. We don't sleep. Some have abilities. Alice can see the future. Edward can read minds, everyone's but yours. Jasper and I can feel and manipulate others emotions, as well as our own."

"What about myths? Sunlight?"

"None of the myths are true. We sparkle in the sunlight, it's stupid and not harmful at all."

"Sparkle?" She didn't believe me. I wouldn't believe that fact either.

"It's true. I'm sure Jasper will show you one day."

"What about you?"

"You'll never see me sparkle, hell you'll probably never see me again after this."

"What do you mean?" She was sad.

"Jasper doesn't like it when I come out. He doesn't understand me as well as he thinks. He thinks I'm a bad guy but I'm not, and because of this he'll keep a tight lock on me from now on."

"Oh." Still sad.

"Yeah. So you better enjoy the time you have with me."

"Has your back healed yet?"

"Nope."

"How long does it take?"

"It depends on the depth, how long it's been open, whether or not the vampire has enough blood in them."

"Do you need more blood because you can have some. It's not nearly as disgusting as I thought it would be."

"No. I can't. It will heal fully soon." I shifted again. The lull in conversation had me thinking about the beam again.

"Why can't you have red eyes? You mentioned something about Jasper."

"The last time I came out I killed someone, a vampire from Jasper's past. A very powerful vampire, so I needed to stock up on human blood before I went after them. The Captain and me found her and killed her. Jasper doesn't know. I let him have his body back near the Cullen house, he didn't even know I had killed. He only realized once the Cullen's noticed his red eyes. He felt as though he had failed himself... he just... I don't want him to feel that way again, so his eyes must stay golden."

"You _do _care about him." She had doubted this fact.

"I do."

I finally felt my back heal completely. I moved the beam slowly, wanting to be free, but the wall between the bathrooms moved, shit. The wall right above Bella's head was unstable. I tried again, so slowly, the wall moved again. One false move and Bella would be crushed. I couldn't let that wall fall. Knowing my back had healed completely I rested the beam on my back, my skin once again tough as granite.

"Maybe you can slide out from underneath it," Bella coached me.

I moved slowly. Digging my fingers into the rubble, pulling myself out slowly, carefully. The wall above Bella's head swayed a bit, but not as much as before. I was slowly getting free. The beam now rested on the backs of my thighs. I reached forward and grabbed a floor beam, bracing myself. I pulled myself forward again. Slowly getting free. I could hear a rumble in the distance, that could not be good. I slid forward the rest of the way quickly and dove on top of Bella, protecting her. The rumble got closer and the wall fell down on top of us. I felt Bella's pain as she screamed out. Shit. I tried to protect her, yet I failed. Her pain didn't seem that bad though, not life threatening. The dust settled once again and I attempted to move off her. Okay, not happening. I basically had the whole cement wall on my back. I braced myself above her body, giving her some room.

"What hurts?" I asked her.

"My arm," she whimpered.

I looked back and her left arm was under a fairly big piece of cement, it was definitely broken, if not shattered.

"How's the pain?"

"Manageable," she gritted back.

I needed a plan to get us out of here and fast. Okay, wall of cement on my back. Potentially more collapses to come. Mud. Three different mudslides at least. Probably a ton of mud on top of us as well. Mud. Cement. What can I do? There must be something. I had to do something. Anything.

"Don't move," I told Bella as I leant against her as flush as I could so that I could protect her.

I reached up and broke a piece of the cement wall off and moved it to the side, near Bella's crushed arm. I did the same for the other side. Making two walls. I rested on Bella completely and turned around so I was now facing the large piece of wall which was still on top of us. I picked it up with my hands and feet, making sure it was safe. I rotated it and placed it on top of the two walls. The walls sunk into the ground but they soon settled. I slid off Bella and rested against her side. We were now in a cocoon again, but this time we were more properly supported by my crappy cement building.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Just my arm."

Right, her arm. I reached across her and easily pulled the rock off her arm. I grabbed her arm carefully and rested it against her chest. I looked at it closely, it definitely looked mangled.

"How's the pain?"

"Alright." She was lying.

"You can't tell Jasper this," I told her seriously.

"Tell Jasper what?" She asked confused.

I tightened my grip on her arm and pulled all the pain from her body. I knew Jasper didn't want to manipulate her emotions, but I couldn't just do nothing. Hopefully Bella would listen to me and never tell him. I made sure I pulled all the pain away. Even the pain she was trying to hide. Just the physical pain. I didn't touch her emotional pain at all. Now what to replace the pain with. I couldn't just leave it, she'd feel like there was a hole in her and she'd have to fill it with something, anything.

"What do you want?" I asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm already manipulating your emotions so you may as well get something out of this, so tell me what emotion you want to replace the pain."

"Anything?" She questioned me.

Anything? Well that was loaded. "Sure." I was somewhat skeptical now.

"Send me security." She didn't even need to think about that one. Jasper was going to kill me for this.

I sent her the security. Just enough to replace the pain I took away and then I stopped it. Jasper was wise when he said he wasn't going to manipulate her emotions. I should have just left her be. Hopefully the security would disappear and the pain would return sooner rather than later. Hopefully all that would remain when this was done would just be a glimmer of what was to come when she finally got better. Security. For her to feel safe once again. For her to feel protected. I didn't talk to her. I just focused on getting out of here. Truth be told I could just claw my way out of here. Cement and mud were not a problem for a vampire. But no, I had Bella to think about. I try to climb out with her, a disaster. More walls could come down. Debris could fall. The mud is probably too thick, cold, and well, slimy. It'd be like digging out of quicksand. One step forward two steps back.

"What's the plan?" The security blanket I had given her was fading, she was feeling sadness again.

"I have to leave you behind."

"What?" Oh now she was pissed.

"Just listen to me, okay," she nodded her head. "I'm going to dig us out of here, but you need to stay here, okay. It's going to be tough. More walls could collapse. It's just not safe. Now you should be fine underneath this makeshift, shack, of sorts. And if I dig the hole myself, well then it will be quicker. I'll dig the hole to just below the surface and then I'll come back for you and we'll leave together. Okay?"

"Okay," she accepted, but I could tell she wasn't exactly on board with my plan. I could feel some abandonment coming from her.

"Hey, listen," I said as I grabbed her face and forced her to look at me. "I am going to come back for you, we're going to get out of this. I will not let Jasper down. He cares for you okay, even if he doesn't realize it yet, so I will not leave you down here."

I didn't wait for her reply. I pulled myself away from her body and out of our little shack. I sensed the area above me. I couldn't hear anything, but I could still sense emotions. Esme's concern hit me first and I could feel her and the rest of the Cullen's. I could also feel Chief Swan's emotions, he seemed to be with them. There were a few other emotional makeup's with them but I wasn't familiar with any of them. I needed to dig my hole far enough away from them that it wouldn't seem odd when I suddenly appeared. I picked the direction furthest away from them and began working. I pulled the debris away carefully, making sure that I wasn't making the building more unstable. I had to remember that Bella was coming through this hole with me, so it had to be safe.

I worked safely but quickly, and soon I was at the mud. This would be the tricky bit. If I pulled the mud away it could cave in. Filling the hole I had already made with mud. I punched both my arms though the mud and pushed them apart. I was effectively pushing the mud outwards to make a circle. Compacting the mud together. Making it safe. It would be like cement after I had compacted it all. It was a long process. There was a lot of mud, and at each stage I had to make sure it was safe for Bella and myself. I was getting close now. I was sure that Bella would be able to be by my side for the last of the tunneling. The mud was now compacted to dirt, and there wasn't much debris down below that would be a problem. I made my way back down the hole. Towards Bella.

I finally made it back to Bella, she was lying still again, but it was different this time. I made my way closer to her and rested my hand on her shoulder.

"Bella," I whispered as I shook her shoulder gently. "It's ready." Bella stirred awake. She stretched her arms out and then screamed in pain. "Ssshhh!" I said as I took the bulk of her pain away but left her with a dulling throb. "Come on let's get out of here."

She shifted. She seemed too weak. Luckily I had planned for the possibility of this. I had made sure to make the hole big enough for me to carry Bella through. I picked her up effortlessly, bridal style, and began carefully pulling her out of the hole. I was going slow. Listening intently for any noises, no matter how small. I heard a noise and we stopped. I was always ready to protect Bella with my body. We made it to the top of my tunnel and I moved Bella to my back. I reached my leg down and kicked at the dirt. It collapsed and went straight down the hole we just came through. Bella was shocked and scared. She grabbed onto my back tightly. When the hole filled up completely I compacted the mud and set Bella down, the hole was now covered up.

"Are you ready?"

"I guess." She seemed disappointed and she began cradling her broken arm.

"What?" I asked her confused.

"I'm human."

"Yes." What was she getting at?

"I have a cut on my head, a broken arm... a bite on my shoulder. We were trapped for god knows how long."

"Four hours," I interrupted her.

"Four hours?" I nodded my head. "We were trapped for four hours and you're fine, there's not a scratch on you... but I must say that the mud does look good on you." She smiled. I looked down, my arms were covered in mud, my face probably had a few smears of mud as well.

"What are you getting at? We both know I'm a vampire, virtually indestructible."

"You shouldn't be fine. You should have a broken leg or something, anything." I still wasn't getting the picture. I was a vampire. "We're going up there. Back to the real world. No one is going to believe that you got out of this completely unscathed."

She was right. Stupid humans.

"What do you suggest?" I was not happy with this at all.

"Pretend you have a broken leg? Dr. Cullen can get you a cast without doing x-rays. No one will know, but they'll see the cast and you'll appear to be human."

She was right. "I can't do this."

"What?" She asked me confused.

"I cannot do this. I cannot pretend to be weak. I am not weak."

"I know you're not weak. You showed great strength down there," she faltered, not wanting to call me Jasper I assume, but not wanting to refer to me as the Major either. "Pretending doesn't make you weak."

"I can't do it. I'll make Jasper do it."

"Wait," I stopped. "So this is it? You're leaving?"

"Yes. It's time for Jasper to come back. I'll let him be the hero. He can have all the applause for saving you, I don't mind. Plus he can have the broken leg, I don't want that at all, plus I'm a terrible actor, no one would believe me."

"Okay," she accepted. "So I won't see you again? You said-"

"Bella," I interrupted her. "I know what I said, but if you need me, just call for me. I am always with Jasper, always listening, always paying attention. You need me, for anything, just call for the Major, okay, and I'll be there for you."

"Okay," sadness.

"Goodbye Bella," I leant forward and kissed her on the forehead. "Be patient with Jasper, trust him, we both know he's been dense lately, but hopefully things will change from here on out. Goodbye."

I retreated. I let my defenses down. I allowed him to come back.

_Jasper's POV_

I looked around me. Where was I? I wasn't in the building anymore? I was surrounded by dirt? I focused on Bella. She was feeling pain.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Please tell me that she's fine. Please tell me that he didn't hurt her.

"I'm fine. The worst of it is my arm."

She held her arm out for me. It looked bad. Out of shape, bruised, but her pain seemed manageable.

"Where are we?"

"He dug a hole. We were down there. The way out is through there." Bella pointed above our heads. I could hear my family across the other side.

"Okay. Why'd the Major let me back? I was fighting the whole time. He kept me blocked, wouldn't let me through. I didn't want to leave you with him Bella, I tried. I fought him, I swear."

"It's fine Jasper, he was a bit of an ass at times, but he was fine. He let you back because I told him that he had to fake a broken leg to appear human, he didn't want to do that. He thought you'd be more likely to go along with my plan. So are you willing to pretend to have a broken leg, so the humans up there don't question you?"

"Okay, sure," Something was off. "What's this weird taste on my tongue? Is it blood?" My face fell. I couldn't have bitten Bella, I couldn't. Please tell me I didn't. "Did he bite you?"

I turned my attention to Bella, she was looking at me intently.

"No," she finally answered, oh thank god. "He just sealed my cut on my head closed, that's probably what you're tasting. I pulled it open not long later though by accident."

"Okay, good." I was so tempted to ask her if anything else happened that I should know about, but I kept quiet. "Let's get out of here then."

I picked her up, bridal style. She felt so soft against me. So warm. I looked down and smiled at her. It hit me then. I looked at her and I couldn't look away. She quirked her eyebrow. She was beautiful. She was mine. She was my mate. I could see it now. I wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but I couldn't, it was too soon. I reluctantly tore my gaze from her. I had to get us out of here. I had to get Bella out safely. I tucked her head under my chin. I couldn't keep the smile off my face, this was a good revelation. No more wondering if Bella was my mate, I knew she was my mate. It was excellent. I punched the dirt above me and it fell down around us. I jumped up at the same time and landed on the other side. I quickly fell to the ground. No need for anyone to think we were completely unscathed.

"Are you alright?" I asked Bella, testing her emotions, she seemed fine.

"I'm good. Glad we're finally free."

"Bella! Bella!" I could hear Charlie's frantic cries as he ran over to us. I looked up and saw my family approaching too.

"Don't forget your broken leg," Bella whispered to me.

Right, broken leg. How long do they take to heal again, weeks? I'd have to wear a cast out in public for weeks, great, just great.

"Bella! Bella are you okay?" I let go of her. Charlie wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.

"I'm fine dad, just my arm."

"Oh, Dr. Cullen-" Charlie was becoming frantic at the sight of Bella's arm.

"Dad," Bella interrupted. "Jasper needs medical attention too." I rolled my eyes.

"Son, are you alright?" Carlisle asked me, fake concern present.

"I think my leg's broken." It even felt wrong to say it.

Carlisle lifted me up. "Try and put pressure on it son." I went to take a step and made an act of it crumpling under me. I screamed out in the appropriate pain. Carlisle caught me. My whole family attempted to keep a straight face but I could feel their amusement. "Emmett, give me a hand. I'm sorry son but I think it's broken."

Great. Hopefully I could talk Carlisle into one of those leg braces instead of a plaster cast, at least then I could take it off. I looked towards Bella, Charlie had wrapped his police jacket around her and was holding her close.

"Thank you Jasper," Charlie smiled at me. "I'll never be able to repay you."

I just smiled back. I could feel his pride towards me and it was overwhelming.

"Dr. Cullen," Bella spoke weakly, "You have to check Jasper's back, he hurt it pretty bad." She was concerned but she was also feeling mischievousness.

"I will," Carlisle promised her. Charlie walked away with Bella. "So, a broken leg son?" Carlisle was smiling.

"Ask him about his severed spinal cord," Bella whispered but we all heard it clear as day. So, that's what she was up to. I have a feeling Emmett would never let me live this one down.

"So," I began ready to change the subject.

"You severed your own spinal cord?" Carlisle was in disbelief, but also contemplative.

"Bella's my mate," I blurted out.

"Not gonna work," Emmett smiled at me. "So how'd you sever your own spinal cord?"

"Ow," I screamed out in pain, thankfully another police officer came over.

"You better get him to the hospital and checked out," the officer told my father, he must be new to town.

All I cared about was that I had avoided their asinine questioning for the time being.

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><p><strong>AN- **Once again sorry for the long wait but it's like 6,500 words so that's like two chapters in one.

Review and tell me what you thought.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N- **Thank you to all of you who reviewed, you guys are awesome!

Some of you still think James might be alive, he's dead people, I'm not lying to you, I swear.

I do not own Twilight.

Enjoy

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><p>Here I lay, in a hospital bed, leg plastered in a cast. A cast? Carlisle fed me some bullshit about how the bones had to heal first before I could switch to a leg brace. He'd be lucky if I didn't rip this stupid thing off of me. On a good note, by the time we arrived at the hospital the visiting hours were over so I didn't have to deal with my family yet. Bella was taken for x-rays as soon as we arrived and I hadn't seen her since. I heard a nurse discussing Bella's surgery, so I assume her broken arm was pretty bad and they're surgically fixing her up. I'd see her soon no doubt.<p>

I still couldn't believe I let the Major come out, and stay out. I tried to remember what happened when the Major was in control but I could remember anything, he must have kept me blocked. I wondered what happened down there. I wondered how the Major got free from the beam. When I left I was growing weak. I would have never had enough strength to lift that beam clear of my back. And then Bella, she was bleeding. She was bleeding in front of the Major and he didn't even attack her. She should be dead. They were stuck together for hours. I wondered what they talked about. How they got along. Bella said everything was fine, that the Major was just an ass. She didn't seem too fazed by what had happened.

Thankfully they wheeled Bella into the room and I could stop thinking about it. I closed my eyes, I was meant to be asleep. They muddled around for a bit. Hooking Bella up to an IV, all that, and then they left. I opened my eyes slowly. The room was relatively dark.

"Are you awake?" She asked me.

"Yeah. How'd the surgery go?" I turned onto my side with some difficulty, stupid cast, so that I was facing her.

"Fine, I guess." She seemed uncomfortable but that could have just been due to the fact that she had a cast on her arm which went above her elbow it seemed. "Hey," she was nervous now. I waited for her to continue. "What do you remember from being trapped?"

"Not much." I admitted. "I remember going to the bathrooms after I left you in the cafeteria. Then I heard the rumbling, the ground was shaking. I spun around to face the noise. My fingernails were out, ready to attack whoever it was. The ground shaking made me lose my footing for a moment and I basically dug my fingernails deep into my back and ripped them out, severing my spinal cord in the process. Next thing I remember is being trapped by the beam, growing weaker. Then there was another shake and the wall in between us broke apart. I could see you but you weren't moving. I thought you were dead at first, but you were still breathing and your heart was still beating. There was another rumble and a piece of cement fell down and hit you on the head, cutting you. Then he, I tried to keep him back, but then the Major came out and that's all I remember, until we were in that hole together."

"Oh." That's all she replied, she seemed to be thinking about something though. "Well I guess I may as well tell you everything I told him about James and all that."

She told the Major these things first? Why him?

She told me all about James being a vampire. About how she knew I was a vampire and my family was too. She told me that the Major had filled her in on everything a vampire could do. She also told me about the two times she escaped, but she was clearly leaving something out from the second escape, I didn't push her though. She told me why James kept her for so long. About his plan to change her into a vampire when she turned sixteen. Today. She told me James was a tracker and she knew he was dead for sure. Knowing James was a tracker answered my question about there being no other smells at the house where she was kept. Trackers were known to hide their smell, make it seem as though they were never there. Some trackers don't even smell to other vampires, it's a part of their ability. A lot of things were now falling into place, but Bella only mentioned James, she didn't even mention Victoria. I wanted to ask her, but I didn't want to cross a line, so I stayed quiet. Surely if she was being open and honest with me then she'd tell me if there was a second vampire, so it must be just James.

"So? Any questions? Anything?" She asked me when she was finished.

"How are you dealing with your mother's death?" She looked at me dumbfounded, she was confused. Had the Major asked this exact same question?

"I," Bella faltered before continuing. "Part of me always suspected that she was dead, but I didn't want to believe it. I couldn't believe that she was dead, I couldn't believe that I was doing all this for nothing. When I found out, well I was crushed. My worst fears were confirmed. I slowly came to terms with it over the two years, but it all came rushing back when I was told. It's easier to handle knowing that I did everything I could. Knowing that I stayed with James to keep her safe, even though she was already gone by then, but I know I did my very best to keep her alive."

"Are you ready for sleep?" I asked her carefully. Emotionally she wasn't doing too well right now, but sleep would fix that. It would give her a chance to get her emotions back under control subconsciously whilst she was asleep.

"Yeah," she turned onto her side, facing away from me. I didn't take it personally, it would be pretty tough for her to lay on her broken arm. "Jasper," she spoke quietly.

"Yes."

"The, umm, the Major was right about one thing."

"And what's that?" I was beyond curious.

"He told me that you were different people, that he wasn't like you at all, it's true."

Was this a good thing? I just had to know.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked her wary of her answer, what if she like the Major better than me, sure we were the same person, but I don't think I could deal with that. She was my mate, not his. He would not take her away from me.

"Yes. I like you better," she answered but didn't elaborate. I'd love to hear all the reasons why she thought I was better than him, but I was just happy that she liked me best. _Take that Major_. I heard him growl back, but it was a low growl, non threatening. He seemed more annoyed than anything, I doubt he even cared about Bella.

I heard her breathing level out and her emotions starting to shift, settling back into what had become normal for her lately. Her emotions weren't so much the black death cocktail mix they had used to be, no, she had slowly settled her emotions down. She was slowly working through some things. She still felt sorrow, torment and frustration, but she was now feeling relief and some hope, but the hope felt misplaced, forced. Like she wanted to feel hope so badly she was forcing herself to feel it. Not to worry though, she'd feel the hope soon enough as she continued to heal. There was one thing I was learning about Bella, she was strong, very strong minded. I had no doubt she would heal fully in time. I admired her strength, I believed it was stronger than my own.

There was nothing to do now until Bella was awake so I sent myself the emotional cocktail I needed and I knocked myself out.

"Jasper, Jasper." Was that Bella? I was still asleep, not really feeling ready to wake up. "Jasper," I heard it again. I wasn't stirring. Then something hit me on the head and shattered. Okay, now I was awake. I shot up and was covered in glass and water, what the hell. I turned towards Bella. "What?" She asked me innocently in mock confusion. "I was awake and I was bored, plus vampires aren't meant to sleep."

"So you threw a jug of water at me?" I questioned her and she smiled.

"You're a vampire, I didn't hurt you."

"It's strange, you knowing that I'm a vampire. It's nice not having to hide who I am from you, but it's odd."

"I'd know something was up without James," she was sure. "You stopped a van with your foot," she quirked her eyebrow at me, hey that was my thing. She looked unbelievably cute whilst doing it though so I'd let her have it. "You painted a mural on my wall. You broke into my locker. Two things a human would have trouble doing without being caught. Do you need me to go on?"

"You knew that was me? The mural? The journal?"

"Yes. Not at first. In the beginning I didn't even want to think about who had broken into my room and painted my walls, so I didn't. I observed the painting, I saw the name, J.R. Whitlock, didn't know who the hell that was, and then Charlie comes home one day. Now Charlie doesn't talk much, at all, and when he does he struggles to think of conversation topics, so when a one Jasper Hale, now known as Jasper Whitlock- his birth name, got arrested for speeding, well it was all Charlie could talk about. It wasn't that hard to connect the dots, and then you signed the journal with your name as well, so yeah."

Huh. Very observant and here I thought I was being tactful. I must be off my game. At least I was still feeling the Major, he hadn't retreated fully yet, I could still talk to him easily. He usually stuck around for a while after he came out, but eventually he got bored and would lock himself away completely until he was needed again.

"Knock, knock," Esme knocked on the door before coming in. Followed by the rest of my family, everyone except Carlisle and Edward.

"Where's Edward?" I asked immediately.

"He didn't come under the circumstances," Alice told me as she pulled at her shirt. Right, I claimed Bella and didn't want him to talk to her, I guess he was taking this seriously.

"Okay," I accepted.

"Okay, what?" Bella asked me confused, expectantly.

"Edward's your singer."

"Jasper," Rose admonished me.

"Relax," I told her. "The Major came out yesterday when I was stuck with Bella, he told her all about vampires, her, umm," I turned towards Bella, was I allowed to tell them about James.

"James," Bella began, "My abductor, he was a vampire." There were gasps all round. Good I wasn't the only stupid one here, though they had spent little time with Bella, so they had an excuse. I saw Bella fidgeting nervously.

"Oh, Bella," Esme said as she sat next to Bella on her bed and put her arm around her. Bella hesitated at first but she leant into Esme's embrace. I met Bella's gaze and smiled proudly at her.

"That bastard," Rose, of course. Bella stiffened.

"I wish he wasn't dead so that I could hunt him down and rip his head off," Well I guess I now knew where Emmett stood, he was definitely all for Bella. I could feel his emotions, he was currently feeling fiercely protective.

I felt a shot of panic from Bella and I turned my attention back to her. Her eyes were wide, she was feeling anxious, looking from one family member to the next, from one vampire to another.

"Everybody out," I told them sternly.

"But-" Esme protested, I could feel her concern and sadness.

"Just for a minute, I need to talk to Bella, I'll call you when you can come back in."

They all left, reluctantly. As soon as they were out the door I jumped out of my bed and hobbled over to Bella, stupid cast. I sat down next to her, taking Esme's place, and put my arm around her.

"Are you okay?" I asked her as I lifted her head so that she was looking at me.

"I just... it was just too much," she buried her head into my shoulder.

"Yeah, I could feel that, sorry. I know my family can seem overbearing, even for someone who didn't know they were vampires."

"Your family?" She questioned me, like she didn't believe me.

"Yeah. I had a hard time accepting them as my family when I was with Alice, but now being separated, well I know I'm welcome there. You know, it's not like Alice was the only reason I was allowed to stay with them and I realize that now, and I'm enjoying getting to know them with this new outlook. I can keep them out if you wish?"

"Tell me more about them?" I tested her emotions. She was trying hard to accept them it seemed. She was trying so hard to like them, to not be afraid of them.

"Well," I guess I just start at the beginning and work from there. "Alice had a vision one day, she told us that Chief Swan's daughter had been found and that he was returning to Forks with her. Now I had no idea who you were, I don't think any of us did, but Carlisle and Esme, well, they felt a kind of paternal love for you and that impressed me. I didn't understand it at all, but it was impressive. They tend to love everyone. Give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I've screwed up a couple of times and they still love and accept me. They've even been proud of me lately. Now Alice, right after the vision of you returning, told us all that you were going to be her best friend. I thought she was insane, a vampire with a human friend, but a lot has changed since then. Speaking of change, I think Rose might give Alice a run for her money on the whole being your best friend part, she's become fiercely protective of you. She's chewed me out on several occasions for being a dick to you, even dislocated my jaw the other day. She means well though, really has your best interests at heart. And then there's Emmett, he's big, yes, and slightly frightening, but he's extremely loyal. You just need to think of him like a big teddy bear because that's what he is, he's harmless."

"What about Edward? What did you mean when you said he was my singer?" She was worried, but her emotions had calmed down greatly.

"Edward can be... difficult, sometimes we don't get along well, or at all. Edward being your singer is extremely unfortunate. What it means is that your blood calls to him. He finds your blood irresistible and it will take great strength for him to resist when he's in your presence." I could feel her worry spike, but she wasn't fearful yet. "Don't worry I'll protect you. I won't let him hurt you. I won't let him kill you. I promise. Now I know Esme wants to come back and see you, as well as the others. Are you up for that? Or maybe just one at a time? Or none? It's all up to you."

"Will you sit with me?"

"If that's what you need then yes."

"Okay," she grabbed my hand in her own. "You can tell them they can come back in."

"You just did," I smiled at her and the others re-entered the room.

As soon as they entered Bella let go of my hand and grabbed my arm instead. Wrapping her hand around my bicep and moving flush against my side. My family saw this and Esme, Alice and Rose sat on my hospital bed five feet away, whilst Emmett moved to the other side of my bed and stood behind it. Clearly visible above Rose and Alice's head. Bella relaxed when she saw that they were far enough away to not be a threat in her mind. Her grip on my arm never faltered though.

"How are you dear?" Esme asked carefully. "Is your arm okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," she was still feeling uneasy.

I could feel anger rising and I turned my attention to the source, Rose. What had I done now?

"You let the Major out? With Bella?" She accused me and she wasn't happy.

"I didn't let him do anything, he overpowered me," I defended.

"Well you should have fought harder."

"Why," Bella started nervously but faltered, "Why are you so against him? The Major," she clarified. She was met with incredulous looks all round, including me. "He was fine. He didn't hurt me. He protected me. He got me out safely. He's a hero."

"Oh, please don't tell me he put some kind of hero worship on her, she doesn't need this."

"Rose," I admonished. "The Major is me and if Bella says that he was fine then we believe that. We've got her here safely and that's all that should matter."

She huffed but spoke no more.

"Jasper how are you? Carlisle told me about what happened to your back," Esme was concerned, Emmett laughed, I glared at him.

"It's fine. Carlisle said it healed perfectly and that it was just an unfortunate event."

"An unfortunate event," Emmett snickered, "More like an act of stupidity."

I was about to speak up but Bella bet me to it.

"Leave him alone," she spoke quietly but we all heard her clearly. "Jasper saved me down there. He was growing weak as the venom leaked from his back. He fought hard to free himself and keep me safe all at the same time. Who cares how he hurt himself, if he didn't then I would have been stuck down there all by myself. He kept me alive and I can never repay him for that."

Emmett looked on, mouth open, completely in shock.

"What?" I whispered so only my family could hear me, "I told you she was my mate."

Emmett closed his mouth, "I thought you were just joking, just trying to change the subject."

"No, it's true. I can see it when I look at her."

"I wonder what changed," Esme pondered out loud, still in a whisper. Bella had no idea that we were conversing without her.

All of their emotions seemed to spike positively, happiness being the main one. They were all happy for me, happy for Bella, for the both of us.

"I'm... sorry," Emmett faltered, he almost seemed scared of Bella, weird.

"Well, we're both fine. Bella's got a broken arm and I've got... a broken leg," I glared at the cast just willing to rip it off already.

Bella's grip tightened on my arm and I turned to look at her.

"I have to wear my cast for real, so you have to wear yours, it's only fair." I couldn't tell if she was teasing me or if she was being dead serious, she was blocking me again. I just nodded my head in acceptance.

"Well, we have to go to school," Alice stood up, "But it was nice talking to you Bella," Alice seemed to be keeping her distance from Bella since the first time they met and Bella flinched. I appreciated Alice stepping everything down a few thousand notches. No impromptu hugs on her part, which was definitely a good thing.

"Yes," Rose stood as well, "Feel free to hit him if he's being an ass, which is likely to happen, or wait and tell me, I'll gladly hit him for you."

"I," Emmett faltered as he shifted awkwardly. "Bella," is what he finally settled on with a nod of his head.

And then they were gone, everyone but Esme. Bella seemed to relax a lot. I hope my family wasn't too much for her, she leant against me, resting her head back on my shoulder, was she tired? I tested her emotions, no, she was fine.

"I think you scared Emmett," I told her as I smiled.

"He's just a teddy bear," she whispered back, "A big, scary teddy bear."

I let out a small laugh.

I could hear Charlie and Carlisle coming towards our room, down the hallway. They were talking.

"I don't know what your plan is, but Bella's not going to school for the rest of the week. I feel bad, it was her birthday yesterday and I didn't really have anything planned as I didn't know what I should do, or what I should get her, and then all this happened so I didn't do anything anyway. I mean on her birthday of all times."

"It's tough," Carlisle agreed. "I can get Alice to throw her a party if you wish. Just a small affair, family only, but only if you think Bella would like something like that."

"I don't know. Usually she doesn't like to be made a fuss of, but maybe it's what she needs, you know, for her to see that people care about her. I'll ask her and get back to you, okay?"

"That's fine. Alice is really fast getting parties together so if Bella wants to get it over and done with then we can do that too. And as for Jasper, the break in his leg wasn't that bad, but he needs to keep it elevated for a few days at least, so he'll be staying home as well."

"Do you think we should put them together again, like last time? Bella didn't seem as happy after Jasper left and I don't want her to feel like that again. I guess I could take time off work and stay with her."

"Charlie," Carlisle interrupted him, they were stopped just outside the door now. "Jasper told me he found it awkward, but you don't need to take time off work, Esme can look after them. Either at my place or yours, wherever Bella wants."

"And Esme won't mind keeping an eye on them? Making sure Bella feels comfortable? Looking after her pain medication, all that? I don't really want her alone."

"She won't be. She'll be with Jasper and Esme. And Esme will call you if anything happens or she needs anything. It will be fine Charlie."

"Okay," came Charlie's gruff reply.

Carlisle knocked politely before he opened the door.

"Hello Bella, how are you feeling?"

"Could be worse." Well that was true. I smiled at Bella and she smiled back.

"Listen kid," Charlie spoke, "Dr. Cullen said you can go home but only if you're under supervision. Now you have Jasper again, but we thought it would be good if Esme watched out for you. Well if it's alright with Esme."

"That's fine Charlie," she smiled at him.

"Thank you Esme. So you can either go to our place or theirs, but it'd be easier for Esme if you just went to theirs."

"It's no trouble Charlie, I don't mind," Esme told him.

"Come to ours," I turned to face Bella, "Trust me, you won't regret it." She looked at me confused. "Just trust me."

I had fun with Esme the other day when we spent the day together so I knew that Bella would too. Plus there was no way I was staying at her place alone with her again. It was different knowing that she was my mate now, but I didn't want a repeat of the awkwardness we experienced last time when we were alone.

"Their place is fine dad," she seemed a little uneasy at her decision, but who wouldn't in her situation. She just agreed to willingly go into a house where known vampires live, not very smart. But I could feel that deep down she knew that she had nothing to worry about.

"Good," Carlisle clapped his hands together. "I'll go fill out the discharge forms."

"Thanks for doing this Esme," Charlie said once Carlisle had left. "You will call me if anything happens?"

"It's no problem and I will," she promised him.

Charlie then turned his attention to me. "Shouldn't you have that leg elevated son?"

"Yes sir," Bella reluctantly let go of my arm and I twisted around so that I could lift my leg onto the bed. Elevating my non broken leg. I was suddenly happy that I was spending the day with Esme and Bella, both of whom knew that my leg wasn't broken. I glanced back at Charlie and he did that thing where he pointed at his eyes and then at me with two fingers, letting me know that he was watching me. I guess he had found something new, no more shovel references, now it was the 'I'm watching you' gesture. I cowered in mock fear and Charlie smiled at me. Good for you Charlie.

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><p><strong>AN**- There you go, the next chapter will obviously be their day with Esme, I wonder what craft projects that woman will come up with next. Review and tell me what you thought.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N- **Thank you to all who reviewed, you guys are awesome, seriously. You keep on reviewing and I'll keep on writing.

I already have a rough idea for my second Bella/Jasper story and it will be way different then this one. I probably won't post it until this story's finished but now we all have something to look forward to.

Enjoy

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><p>"I can't believe Bella is coming over. What do we have to do?" Esme's emotions were currently bouncing around like a child's. She was so excited, nervous, happy, anxious.<p>

"Relax," I told her. "Bella won't be expecting anything, maybe just some food and drink."

"Oh, food and drink," she interrupted me frantically.

"Alice already took care of it, we have everything we could ever need. Just relax, everything will be fine."

"But I want Bella to have a good time. I want her to feel welcome. I want her to come back."

"She will," I promised her before letting my guard down. "The other day, you know when I skipped school... well I had a good time, you know, when it was just you and me. It'll be like that, I'm sure."

"You really had a good time?" Esme asked me hopefully.

"Yes."

"Okay, so what do I do with Bella? I mean we can't make a thousand paper cranes again. Or could we."

"Esme, calm down. It'll come to you, or we can decide on something to do when Bella actually gets here."

"You're right." Of course I was.

She was silent for a moment, her emotions hadn't settled down at all though. Hopefully Bella would get here soon.

"Is there anything we need to do? Like hide the crucifixes or something like that?"

Crucifixes? What the hell?

"No. Bella knows we're vampires, I don't think we need to hide anything from her. What have we got anyway? A picture frame full of graduation caps. I think we're right."

"Right. Sorry, I panicked."

"Do you need or want me to calm you down?" I asked her as I sat down on the couch to wait for Bella to arrive.

"Yes. Thank you."

Esme sat down next to me and I sent her some calm, enough that she started to relax back into the couch.

"It's like a drug," Esme almost purred, maybe I was sending her too much, I backed off. "You know that right?"

"Yes." I knew exactly how powerful my ability was. I mean I could make a vampire go to sleep. I doubted there was anything I couldn't do if I thought it through first. The Major knew more about my ability and used it better than me, that's why he came out at times, he was stronger than me, smarter, but I knew enough to get by.

"Oh, they're coming," Esme jumped up excitedly and pushed all the calm from her body, great.

I'd let her be excited if that's what she wanted. I just sat there. She could answer the door. She probably never got the chance to answer the door for her child's... girlfriend. Was Bella my girlfriend yet? No. She was my mate which was so much more, but I hadn't asked her out yet. All she had done was be physically close to me after being trapped. I guess I'd just have to play it by ear. It had been too long since I was interested in anyone. I probably hadn't been interested in anyone since I was human. I didn't even know what they did nowadays, maybe I could rent some of those girly romantic movies. The Major growled. Okay, so he wasn't a fan of that idea. It wasn't the best plan but what else could I do. _Just be yourself you ass, do what you want, she won't care _-the Major. Was he right? I just needed to be myself?

They had pulled up to the house and Charlie stopped the engine.

"You sure you're okay with this kid?" Charlie asked her.

"Yeah dad, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay."

I heard two car doors open and close, and then the doorbell rang. Esme's excitement skyrocketed, she even clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Charlie, Bella," she answered the door.

"Hi Esme," Charlie pulled the backpack off his shoulder and handed it to Esme. "Bella just packed a few things in case she got bored, not saying that it will be boring. We just didn't know what you had here."

"It's fine Charlie," Esme said as she grabbed the backpack off him. "Jasper's on the couch Bella," she stepped aside and Bella made her way hesitantly into our house.

I met her gaze and she came over to me. I smiled at her as she sat down next to me. I reached out and touched her cast. I knew she wouldn't appreciate me asking if she was in pain so I tested her emotions and I was happy to find that she was currently free of pain. Good.

"Bella's pain medication is in her bag too," Charlie told Esme, he was feeling slightly uncomfortable. Esme stepped aside and Charlie took a step inside. "Call me when you want to come home Bells."

"I will dad," she promised him.

"Jasper," he greeted me.

"Charlie," I replied and he frowned.

"Jasper," What was he getting at? He was feeling a sense of superiority and concern. "Elevate that leg son." Seriously? I lifted my leg and rested it on the coffee table in front of me. "Bella, keep an eye on him, he doesn't like to follow the rules."

"I will," Bella smiled, she was feeling amusement, good for her.

I was waiting for Charlie to do his 'I'm watching you' gesture, but thankfully it didn't come to that. Charlie left, and Bella became tense. She was glancing around the room nervously.

"Hey," I said as I grabbed her hand, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just... It's just different from what I imagined, nicer, normal... ish."

"Normal-ish?"

"Well it's nothing like Charlie's house."

"We like to be comfortable, have our own space. Plus Esme likes to dabble in exterior design."

"Oh, well it's nice."

"Esme will appreciate that if you tell her." She nodded her head in response.

"Charlie asked me if I wanted a birthday party," she told me, once again nervous.

"Yeah and what did you say?"

"No."

"And then what happened?" She seemed too unhappy for that to be the end of it.

"Charlie said it was going to happen either way, so," she was giving off a sense of pride towards her father.

"It will probably be unbearable, gifts, cake, decorations, the whole nine yards."

"But they don't know me."

"Doesn't matter. Alice is in charge of parties, every birthday I have to sit through crap, I don't mind though."

"Why?"

"Because they don't know my real birth date," I whispered to Bella. "I just told them the date I was changed, this way I can spend my birthday how I wish, in peace."

"Smart. So where is Esme?" Bella asked nervously as she glanced over her shoulder.

"Kitchen. Probably attempting to make you something to eat, don't feel obligated to eat it though."

"Jasper don't tell her that," Esme scolded me, loud enough for Bella to hear.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Bella answered back but I could feel that she was scared.

Esme finally came out with a bowl of potato chips, not the most healthy option.

"Here," Esme said as she sat the chips on the table. "Feel free to snack on these. I promise to make something better for lunch. This is all new for me."

"It's fine Esme," Bella reassured her.

"Do you need anything to drink?" Esme asked her.

"Yeah, can I get a strawberry milkshake, with a straw," Bella was feeling amusement, what was she up to?

"Sure," I'll be right back.

"What was that?" I asked her smiling.

"Nothing," Bella lied, amusement still present.

"You know she's gone to get you a straw from the store right." Bella frowned. "We have none in the house so she's literally running to get you one."

"Oh." Now she felt bad. "It just felt good you know, making a vampire get me what I wanted."

"Don't worry, Esme doesn't mind. She wants you to have a good time today, she wants you to come back, and if having to run to the store to get you a straw helps achieve this then she'll do it."

"I just don't want to put her out."

"Nonsense you should be milking this for all it's worth."

"What do you mean?"

"You were living with a vampire for two years Bella, a vampire who fed you coyote meat, you should finally be getting what you want from vampires, you deserve it. So milk it."

"What?" Confusion.

Confusion? The Major. "Sorry," I immediately apologized. "The Major."

"He's still there?" She asked, hopeful.

"Yes," I gritted my teeth. I hated that she liked him, how could she like him so much. _Because deep down I'm you. _I let out a small growl and Bella flinched, great, just great. "I'm sorry," I apologized to Bella as soon as I calmed down.

She was silent for a while before she spoke.

"I want to ask you a question," she was nervous, but determined. "The same question I asked the Major. Why don't you like him?"

I sighed. "It's not that I don't like him, I just don't agree with the decisions he makes. I don't like how cold and calculated he is."

"He is you, you're the same person. How can you both not see this?"

Thankfully Esme interrupted our conversation before I could upset her any further.

"Here you go Bella, sorry it took so long I had to find some straws," she sat the milkshake on the table.

"I hope it was no trouble," Bella's emotions were settling down. She grabbed the drink off the table and took a sip. I was glad she was at least drinking, we could work on the food at lunch.

"Oh, no dear, it was no trouble at all," Esme smiled at her and Bella smiled back nervously.

"Can you give us a minute," Bella spoke quietly to Esme. Esme frowned.

"Go up and get your craft table and supplies," I told her as I sent her some reassurance.

"Sure Bella," she rushed upstairs to the attic and I turned my attention to Bella.

"You," she began nervously, playing with the end of her cast. "You know that I... that I ate, umm, coyote meat?"

Damn it, I wasn't supposed to tell her that. Damn Major. "Yes."

"How? I didn't tell you that. I didn't tell the Major that," she was feeling self loathing and disgust, not good.

God damn it.

"No, I figured that part out on my own," well that was mostly the truth. "Look Bella, I don't care, well I do care, I hate that he made you eat that, but I don't mind. Really, I don't. It's just animals. People eat brains and livers, things like that. Plus I snack on animals too, so I can't really judge you."

"You really don't care? You're not disgusted?" Her emotions were beginning to calm down a little.

"No. As long as you've stopped now that's all I care about."

"Jasper a hand," Esme called from upstairs.

"I'll be right back," I jumped up from the couch completely forgetting my cast and I nearly fell over. "Stupid cast," I muttered and Bella laughed.

I hobbled my way over to the stairs. It's not like it hurt me to walk in the cast, it was just annoying as hell. Like one leg was an inch or so longer than the other. I was walking with a limp. At least I didn't have to use crutches yet, and I was hoping like hell Carlisle would switch me to a leg brace before I had to go back to school on Monday, but if that was the case then why the hell did he put me in a plaster cast at all, the only humans I would be seeing in the next few days would be Bella and Charlie. Bella knew I was a vampire and I doubted Charlie would have noticed. I finally made it up the stairs and I saw Esme, she had the table plus a few boxes. I grabbed the table off her.

"How's it going?" She asked me concerned.

"Okay," I answered back honestly. "I can see that Bella and I are going to get into a lot of arguments and misunderstandings, but it seems as though we can quickly move on which is good."

"So what's the plan?" She asked me expectantly.

"No plan, just set up the craft table and we'll go from there."

"Okay," she accepted, once again becoming excited.

I raised the table above my head as I hobbled down the stairs, making sure I didn't trip. I eventually made it back to the living room, Esme right behind me. I sat the table down near the couch, just like last time. Bella looked at me confused. I went and grabbed three chairs from the kitchen. I put two on one side and one on the other. Esme sat the boxes on the table and sat down opposite from Bella. I took a seat on the side with two chairs and left the other one for Bella. Bella was still seated on the couch and I didn't push her.

Esme turned her attention to me. "I thought we could make some more lanterns today, for Bella's party."

"Good luck with that," I told her as I grabbed a piece of paper off the top of the box.

"Jasper?" Esme questioned emitting sadness.

"No, no way. I tried making one of those last time and, just no." There was no way I was going to attempt to make one of those lanterns again. Damn glue.

"Fine, I'll make them then. Bella feel free to join us, or even just sit with us."

"Esme won't bite," I quipped with a laugh. "I may, but Esme won't."

"Jasper," Esme admonished.

"What? I feeling a little hungry," I teased her.

"Jasper you need to hunt," Esme told me growing serious.

"And I will, tomorrow," I promised her. "Anyway if the Major can resist her blood then surely I can." I felt a wave of guilt come from Bella but when I looked at her she seemed deep in thought so I left it be.

I grabbed the paper and began folding it. Making another paper plane. I finished it and I threw it. It didn't even go anywhere. If anything it went upwards, what the hell. I grabbed another piece of paper and tried it again. Bella got up off the couch and took the empty seat next to me. She was just looking at what I was doing. I folded a different plane design now and threw it again. This time it went down. I grabbed another sheet of paper.

"You're doing it wrong," Bella told me.

"I think I know how to make a paper plane," I responded frustrated. I had seen humans make them countless times, I'm sure I can make one to produce the same results.

I was halfway through folding another one when Bella reached across the table and grabbed Esme's stapler. It thought nothing of it and went back to work. Out in my peripheral I saw her struggle to open it with one arm, but she got it. Two more folds and I would be done. Next thing I know Bella's rested the stapler on my forearm and whacked it with her non broken arm, what the hell. The stapler stapled but of course didn't pierce my skin. The actual stapler, well it broke. The plastic now had a huge crack in it.

"You broke my stapler," Esme practically cried as she grabbed the ruined object from our side of the table and surveyed the damage.

It was beyond repairable.

"I said you were doing it wrong," Bella repeated.

I turned my attention to her. "So? That gives you the right to attack me with a stapler does it?"

"You weren't listening to me. Plus you're a vampire."

"You broke Esme's stapler," I deadpanned.

"Well, I didn't plan for that. Maybe she needs to buy a reinforced one, one that's not easily broken. Are you going to listen to me yet?" She asked.

"How's your hand?" I asked, I could feel a small piece of pain coming from her.

"It will bruise. So?" She asked once again.

"Fine, show me how to fold the stupid thing," she had a huge smile on her face. She was feeling pretty triumphant and satisfied right now.

She reached over and grabbed a piece of paper off Esme's side of the table and Esme glared at her a little.

"Sorry," Bella met Esme's eyes and apologized. Esme seemed to soften right in front of her and you could tell that Bella was instantly forgiven. Bella began folding the piece of paper with a skill and a speed which I didn't think she'd be able to achieve with only one working arm, but she was fast. "You have to keep it simple," she told me. "It doesn't have to look like a replica fighter jet." Hmm, she was right, I was trying to make my planes look good.

She finished it off. It looked simple, but it still looked like a plane. She picked it up with her right hand, slipped it in between the fingers of her broken left hand and then positioned it right within her right hand again. She pulled it back and threw it forward with little force and I looked on amazed as it soared right through the living room and only came to a stop when it hit the hallway wall. Seriously?

"See, easy." Oh she was just mocking me now.

I didn't reply. I just grabbed another piece of paper and replicated her folds as perfectly as I could. When I was finished it looked exactly like hers. I picked it up and threw it. It went half the distance of hers, oh come on. Why would the exact same plane only go half as far. I was interrupted out of my thoughts by Bella laughing at me. I turned my attention to her.

"You threw it too hard, plus you need to throw it upwards slightly." Right. Stupid waste of time if you ask me. I don't think I'd ever be making another paper plane in my life. "Cheer up," she was still mocking me, I could tell, "I mean you only got beaten by a girl, a human girl with a broken arm."

"You can have this one," I told her. "I doubt this is a skill that I need to master."

She seemed disappointed that I gave up so easily but that was overtaken by the huge amount of pride she felt towards herself. I guess she had finally one upped a vampire after two years, good for her. Even if it was only over stupid paper plane making.

The phone rang and Esme went to answer it.

"Bella it's for you, it's your dad." Esme came back into the room with the cordless phone.

"Charlie?" Bella questioned as she grabbed the phone and left the room. "Dad?"

"Yeah Bells, it's me. Look something happened and I have to stay at the station all night."

"Are you okay?" She was worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. A hikers body was found in the forest, possible bear attack, I have to investigate it straightaway."

"Okay," Bella accepted sadly.

"So, I already spoke to Esme and I'd like it if you spent the night there tonight, okay?"

"Dad I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Bella, please. I don't want you home alone."

I ran and I was by Bella's side in a second. I put my hand over the mouthpiece of the phone.

"You can stay in my room Bella. I won't let anything happen to you, I swear," I promised her.

I let go of the mouthpiece.

"Okay dad," Bella accepted, still sad.

"I'm sorry Bella, if I could get out of it I would, but I'm the chief."

"I understand."

"Put Jasper on."

"Here he wants to talk to you," Bella handed me the phone but never left my side. I could tell that she was still afraid to be alone with Esme.

"Charlie."

"Jasper. Bella's staying at your place tonight. I want you to make sure that she's safe. I want you to protect her. Make sure nothing happens to affect her emotionally, got it?"

"Yes sir. Don't worry about a thing." I disconnected the call.

"So?" Bella asked me.

"So, it looks like you're spending the night," I felt a small piece of fear from her but she pushed it away as soon as she could. I smiled reassuringly at her. Surely everything would be fine.

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><p><strong>AN- **So yeah I figured it would be good for Bella and Jasper to spend the night together, gives the other Cullen's a chance to interact with Bella as well. Review and tell me what you thought.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N- **Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys are awesome, and special thanks to Fleur24 for your random yet entertaining reviews as you read it all from the start. Also thank you to SharonD03 for recommending this story on her story a week or so back, very flattering, thanks.

So my grandma passed away and that's why it's taken so long to update. The funeral is tomorrow so we'll have to see when the next update is going to be.

Not much is happening in these chapters, but then again it is, I don't know, next chapter will be a long one I reckon.

Enjoy.

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><p>Well lunch was a disaster. Bella didn't eat anything claiming a stomach ache. Esme didn't push her but somewhat forcefully told her that they would try again at dinner. Something told me that Bella wouldn't get out of eating dinner tonight. We were back on the couch but Bella was feeling anxious. I turned to look at her. She was staring at the window.<p>

"What's the time?" She asked me suddenly.

"Two," I answered and her anxiety spiked, coupled with nervousness and a small slice of fear. "What?"

"School's nearly out," she whispered, still staring out the window.

So she was scared of the others coming home, makes sense.

"Do you want to go to my room?" Her nervousness spiked now. "Esme has a rule," I told her, "Bedrooms are sacred, they are ours. No one is allowed to enter unless they have permission. If you're in my room then no one can get to you."

"Really?" Skepticism, but her other emotions were starting to settle down.

"Really."

"Let's me see it then. You don't sleep in a coffin do you? The house isn't lined with crucifixes or anything like that?" I let out a laugh, first Esme with the crucifixes and now Bella, strange.

"No, nothing strange," I assured her. "I think you'll like it."

I led her up the stairs and down the end of the hall. I opened up the door and allowed her to enter first. I stood in the doorway, watching her back, keeping a close eye on her emotions. Emotions never lied. She was feeling surprise at first, but it quickly changed to astonishment and pleasure, she eventually settled on happiness. She liked it, good. I liked it too. I made my way into my room as she went down towards the library. She sat down at my desk and just looked around at everything. I tested her emotions again and I felt some pain coming off her, and a second later she grabbed her arm. I ran down the stairs and grabbed her backpack from the kitchen where Esme had left it and I quickly made Bella another strawberry milkshake. I ran back up the stairs and I was back before she even noticed I was gone.

"Here," I sat the drink and the pain pills I had grabbed out of her backpack on the desk in front of her.

She was surprised. "Thank you." A small dose of adoration and relief.

I set her backpack next to her on my desk and I retreated back to the bedroom part of my room. I sat down on my bed, against the headboard and just watched her from afar. She took the pain pills and her pain began to ebb away. She drank the rest of her milkshake whilst looking at my books again.

"You can look at the books, I don't mind," I told her.

She smiled at me in response as she got up and walked over to the closest shelf. She seemed to look for ages, running her fingers over the spines, clearly a lover of books. I smiled at that. She finally came to a stop and was looking at a set of books carefully. I knew my whole library by heart, she was at the civil war section. A lot of the books were bull, hardly any facts, but I had spent countless hours scribbling out the authors work and replacing it with what actually happened. Bella finally grabbed a book and walked back over to the desk. I couldn't be sure which one she grabbed from where I was sitting. She sat down and pulled out her journal.

I watched as she flipped through the civil war book. Reading sections here and there. Looking at the pictures. Her emotions constantly changed from amazement to sadness to relief, back to amazement. I was so glad she was feeling emotions normally again. She flipped open her journal and grabbed a pencil off my desk. She began drawing, I kept seeing her glance back at the book, she must be copying something. I desperately wondered what it was, but I wasn't going to disturb her. Not when she seemed comfortable for the first time since she entered this house. No, I'd leave her be. I closed my eyes and just listened to her pencil scratching the course paper. I wondered what she was drawing. The possibilities were endless. I got lost in my thoughts, I don't know how much time passed, but I could hear the others downstairs.

"They're home." I felt the need to inform Bella of this fact as soon as possible. Her face paled and her emotions shifted drastically. She was nervous and scared. She picked up her journal and pencil and was next to me on the bed before I even realized. She was fast. She sat flush against me. I was in between her and the door, yet she stared at it like a group of vampires were about to burst in any minute. She kept on staring at the door, but calmed down after ten minutes had passed.

"They won't come in here Bella, I promise."

She tore her gaze away from the door and looked up at me. I smiled reassuringly at her. She was nearly calm when there was a knock at the door. She grabbed onto my arm tightly with her non-broken right arm, she wasn't letting go any time soon.

"Jasper," Alice spoke carefully, non threatening. "I picked up a bag of clothes for Bella seeing as she's staying the night."

I looked towards Bella and she nodded her head, not confidently at all.

"It's open Alice," I told her and Bella inched even closer to me. Alice opened the door but didn't enter. "You can leave it on the end of the bed, thanks."

Alice walked in slowly and Bella tracked her movements with her eyes, she was not going to let her out of her sights. Alice set the bag on the end of my bed and began to leave. She was at the door when she stopped and turned around. I received a spike of fear from Bella.

"Esme will call you when dinner is ready," she informed us before shutting my door and leaving.

Bella calmed down instantly.

"I won't let them hurt you," I promised her. She looked up at me again. "I swear." She calmed down further and let go of my arm. "Can I see what you were drawing?" I asked her hopeful. I wanted to know what she was drawing so bad. She grabbed the journal off the bed, completely forgotten in her panic, and fingered the cover gently. She was nervous. "You don't have to," I was giving her an easy way out, that or reverse psychology.

She turned away from me so that I couldn't see the journal and she flipped through to the page she wanted. She turned back around and showed me. It was a picture of the confederate flag. It looked pretty good. Shaded in all the right places. It looked like it was blowing in the wind.

"I was just," she began but stopped.

"It looks good," I told her. "Authentic."

I grabbed the journal off her, she let me. I flipped to the next page and was shocked by what I saw. I only glanced at it for a second before Bella pulled the journal out of my hands and snapped it shut.

"That's nothing," she was feeling some regret, embarrassment and panic. "I was bored."

"It was- It is beautiful," I told her honestly.

"Really?" She questioned me.

"Yes." She had drawn a picture of me, eyes closed, laying back on the bed. It looked good. I looked deep in thought, but I looked content with life. "I guess you were right," I smiled at her. "I am beautiful."

"Ass," she said as she playfully hit me with her good arm.

"Glad to see she's taking my advice," Rose spoke from the living room. I smiled. Bella did hit me for being an ass.

"What?" Bella asked me confused.

"Rose is happy that you aren't taking any of my shit," I smiled at her and she frowned.

"They can hear us?" She questioned me.

"Yes."

"Oh." She became silent. Contemplative, definitely thinking. I let her be. Her emotions kept on shifting. It was like she was working through some things in her head.

Time passed and I just sat next to her, offering my support in case she needed me.

Esme knocked on my door later. "Dinner's ready," she spoke loud enough for Bella to hear.

"We'll be right down," I told her before turning my attention back to Bella. "Are you ready?" I asked her and her nervousness spiked.

"No." She was scared again.

"They won't hurt you Bella. I won't let them," I reassured her again.

"Okay," she accepted, she had calmed down a little, but not a lot.

I jumped off the bed, my cast thumping the ground hard, stupid cast. Bella smiled at me as she held out her hand for me to take. I didn't hesitate, I took her hand within my own. She slid across the bed with my help and I pulled her to her feet. She righted herself and I made my way to the door. She was gripping my hand as tightly as she could. I opened the door slowly and made a look of glancing down the hallway before we exited. I knew the others would stay out of my way. We made it to the stairs with no encounters and Bella relaxed a little. We hit the bottom of the stairs and after spotting no one in the living room she relaxed further. As we approached the dining room her nervousness was returning full force.

"They're all upstairs," I assured her and she relaxed again. I opened the door and she looked around nervously, but was relieved when she saw no one, just a plate of food sitting on the table for her. "They wanted to be here for you, in any other instance they'd all be piled into the room watching you eat," I smiled at her, "But they know you're not ready and they respect that. They're willing to wait." I could feel Bella's gratitude towards my family.

She sat down in front of the plate and I sat down next to her. She grabbed the fork and poked the items on the plate. It was chicken by the looks of it, with some kind of rice stir-fry, I had no idea, but there was carrots and other healthy looking things. Bella poked around for a while but didn't eat anything.

"You have to eat something," I told her. "Esme cooked this especially for you."

Guilt. "Do you have ice-cream?" She asked me suddenly.

"I don't know, maybe, but you're not getting any until you eat everything on your plate," I told her seriously.

"I will eat everything on my plate if-" Bella was feeling mischievous. "If you eat a bowl of ice-cream." She challenged me.

"No," I stood up and folded my arms across my chest. No way I was going to eat ice-cream. Cold, wet, slimy, sludge. Not happening.

"Well, then I'm not eating," she countered.

"Fine by me," I accepted. Surely she'd give in.

"I'm sure the Major would do it for me," she spoke quietly.

"No, he's on my side with this one. Just eat," I told her. She picked up her fork and I smiled. Easy.

I retreated a few steps. I didn't get far before I saw Bella move. I didn't get far before I felt a shoot of pain from her. I didn't get far before I smelt her blood. Is she stupid? Intentionally harming herself in a house full of vampires. Bleeding in front of them. I needed to act quickly. I could feel the Major surging forward and I didn't stop him.

_Major's POV_

I didn't hesitate. I grabbed Bella up and placed her behind me. I then dropped into a protective crouch in front of her, ready to attack. They were all in the room in an instant. Their bloodlust him me immediately. I began shifting through the bloodlust, blocking each one. Years of hanging around bloodthirsty newborns, well you learn to block bloodlust. You learn to keep a level head, for it not to affect you. I blocked them all easily, everyone but Edward, she was his singer after all. His draw for her blood was too strong. It was beginning to affect me. I let out a warning growl. Even though I had blocked the others bloodlust from myself they were all still feeling it. They all wanted Bella's blood and I was the only one in between them and her. They hadn't attacked yet because they were afraid of me. I ripped my shirt off, showing off my scars, the girls immediately backed off, I was too much of a threat for them. Carlisle was relatively fine, just a small battle. Emmett was struggling. Edward was slipping.

Another wave of bloodlust came off Edward, it was strong, he was feeling murderous. My dominant stance faltered and Edward geared to attack, and then I was blocked. I couldn't feel Edward's bloodlust anymore, anyone's bloodlust anymore. I stood up, reaching my full height. Bella's hand safely on my back. She was behind me. She was safe if she was behind me.

"Esme leave," I hissed. I felt a wave of hurt come from her but she left. I needed to deal with the second biggest threat here, Emmett, he was still struggling. I had to counter him. Make him an offer he couldn't refuse. Something he wanted so badly. Easy. "Emmett, I'm sure Chief Swan could use your help with the dead body they found." He faltered, excitement coursing through his body, but Bella's blood still drew him in. "Carlisle call the Chief, explain to him that you want Emmett to shadow him. That you want him to show Emmett what it's really like to be a cop." Emmett couldn't stop the excitement now, Bella's blood almost forgotten completely.

"Come on son," Carlisle looked at me confused, he was torn. Wanting to help all three sons at once I assumed. I growled at him. He grabbed Emmett by the shoulder and pulled him out of the house.

"You really want him?" I questioned Alice and then looked towards a blood crazed Edward.

"Yes," she answered surely.

"Then take him," I hit Edward with a hard dose of Jasper's usual sleep cocktail and it knocked him out. Alice caught him up before he hit the ground and ran out of the house with him. I turned my attention to Rosalie, the fighter, the protector. "Do I need to manipulate your emotions too?" she shook her head no, "Then leave."

"But," she began to protest.

"I will _never _harm Jasper's mate," I growled at her and she flinched. "Leave now," I barked at her and she too left the house.

Bella took a step away from me and I could feel the other's bloodlust once again, as it retreated from my body.

"Jasper's my mate?" She questioned me.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I turned around and faced her. "Drawing blood in a house full of vampires. Are you really that stupid?" She cowered in front of me, good. "You're lucky I care for Jasper. That I care enough to protect you. You'd be dead without me. Now eat," I commanded her. She sat down at the table and began eating under my glare. How could she be stupid? Why did she even do this? "Do I need to put you on suicide watch? Do I need to hide all sharp objects from you?"

"No." Defeated.

"Why?" I questioned her trying to calm down.

"I wasn't thinking- I didn't think- I don't know."

Not good enough. I grabbed a vase off the table in front of her and threw it against the wall, it shattered and Bella jumped in fear. Yes, finally, she should fear me. "Try again," I told her. "Nobody does something this big without a good reason."

"You're the one that told me to milk it. That I should finally get vampires to do what I wanted. I wanted Jasper to eat ice-cream," she attempted to explain.

"Do you know what human food is like for vampires?" I questioned her.

"Do you know what raw coyote meat is like for humans?" She countered. Feisty Bella was back, good to see. Smart argument too, I could not argue with that.

"Explain yourself next time and don't reopen your cut." The blood was dripping down her arm still. The cut Jasper had made on her arm had reopened slightly with Bella's attack of the fork. "Eat," I commanded her again and she turned back to her food. I went out of the room and gathered all the items that I needed to stitch her arm back up with. I returned and began stitching her arm up with precision I had learnt on the field. There were many soldier wounds I had to attend to when I was human, too many. When I finished I wrapped a new bandage around her arm before cleaning everything up and replacing everything in Carlisle's study. "I'm not happy with you," I told her as I sat down next to her.

"I can feel that," She was sad and I was obviously projecting, I didn't care though. Let her feel what I was feeling.

"Jasper is here," I told her. Her mood brightened up.

"Really?"

"Yes. He was the Major before I was. He was a Major in the civil war, I just took over the title to avoid confusion."

"You're the same person."

"I know," I accepted, it was true. Didn't mean we had to be the same person, that we had to become one.

"Are you letting him come back?" She asked me.

"He's watching over you right now. He's not too happy with you either. I'm letting him calm down."

"Oh." She was feeling regret, finally.

"You shielded me from Edward's bloodlust." It wasn't a question. "You know you're a shield."

"I suspected after you told me about vampire powers," she explained, "Either way it was worth a try, I had nothing to lose."

"Thank you."

"Anytime." She finished off her meal before turning her attention back to me. "Are you going to explain the whole Jasper is my mate thing?"

"No." I wasn't screwing that one up, that was Jasper's problem.

"Am I," she faltered. "Am I your mate too?"

"I guess, Jasper and I are the same person. I don't feel the draw though. I don't want to rip your clothes off and fuck you senseless." Her face fell. "Don't get me wrong, you're tolerable, just not... right."

"Oh." She was sad again. Was I fucking things up? _Yes. _Jasper informed me. _Fine, come back then_. And just like that I let him come back fully.

_Jasper's POV _

"Is your arm okay?" I grabbed her bandaged arm and tested her emotions, a little pain.

"It's okay," she turned and faced me. "Jasper." I loved that she could tell me apart from that monster, well I guess he wasn't a monster. He was acting pretty civilized towards Bella. "When are the others coming back?"

"When I call them?" I answered. They knew not to come back until I called them, it was too dangerous, the Major was too unpredictable.

"Are you going to call them?"

"Not yet." It hadn't been that long, they were probably all hunting with the exception of Emmett. I guess Emmett finally got his wish of becoming a cop. However there was something I needed to ask Bella before I called the others back. "Why'd you cut yourself, be honest, the Major may have accepted your stupid excuse for some reason but I'm not buying it, so fess up."

"I," Bella looked down at her lap and cleared her throat. "You said you'd protect me. That you wouldn't let anyone hurt me."

"And did I?" Where was she going with this.

"No, you didn't," she looked up at me. "I just had to check. I had to know that you were telling the truth, that you would protect me, and you did."

Seriously? She cut her arm in a house full of vampires just so that she could see if I would protect her or not. Seriously. Was that twisted or what. At least now she shouldn't doubt me at all and that should make tonight, Bella sleeping in a house full of vampires, go more smoothly. I hoped.

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><p><strong>AN- **Okay, so the Major wasn't supposed to come out in this chapter but he did, no complaints here.

Review and tell me what you thought.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing guys, I really appreciate them :)

Firstly, sorry for the long wait but as you know my grandma passed away, so I didn't really feel like writing, but hopefully we can get back to fast updates again, might take a little while, but I'll try.

Okay so I was supposed to mention this last time but I forgot. I thought of another Bella/Jasper story idea and it's the best all human storyline, seriously, I cannot wait to start writing it, but I will finish this one off first, but just know that it's going to be so awesome, trust me. Best. Story. Idea. Ever.

A few of you are concerned with Bella not being the Major's true mate, but don't worry all will be revealed in the chapter after the next one.

**Recap- **Bella is staying at the Cullen's because a body was found in the woods and Charlie has to investigate it. Bella just cut herself in a houseful of vampires to see if Jasper would protect her. Jasper did protect her, well the Major did actually. The Major knocked Edward out with a sleep cocktail and Alice left with him. Emmett ran off to join Charlie and the police force. And I think that's all you need to remember.

Enjoy.

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><p>"I will always protect you Bella. Always," I promised her.<p>

I still couldn't believe that she would willingly cut herself in a houseful of vampires, it was so careless, but nevertheless I still had to convince her that I would protect her no matter what.

"Is it because you're my mate?" She questioned me nervously.

"Partly, but I've always wanted to protect you, long before I knew you were my mate."

"What does being your mate entail? What do I have to do?" She asked me, still nervous.

"I don't expect you to do anything," I told her honestly. "I believe that you're my mate. That I am to spend eternity with you, but I will not force this on you. If you don't feel the same way as me then I won't force you. I care for you way too much."

"What do you feel exactly?"

"It's hard to explain." I paused trying to figure out a good explanation. "When I look at you, well you're all I see. You're the only person I truly care for, the only person I would sacrifice myself for. The thought of spending eternity with you fills me with so much happiness. However, without you in my life, well I'd cease to exist, there would be no reason to keep on living, so you have to promise me that even if you don't feel anything that we will stay friends. I need you in my life."

"I don't know what I feel," Bella admitted. Understandable, she just found out that I, a vampire, believed her to be my soul mate. "I like you. I'm attracted to you, sure, both with how you look and your mind. You have a beautiful mind." She smiled kindly at me. "I like that you put others before yourself. I like a lot of things about you, no complaints really, but I'm not sure how I feel. I haven't really allowed myself to think that you would be interested in me that way. I need time."

"I won't push you." I smiled at her. She was willing to stick by me and that's all I cared about for now. My phone rang and I answered it. "Hello?"

"Jasper what did you do to Edward?" Came Alice's frantic voice. "He hasn't woken up yet. What did you do to him?"

"I don't know, it was the Major. He probably just dosed him with a strong sleep cocktail."

"What do I do? Why isn't he waking up yet?" Still frantic.

"Give it time Alice and he'll come around. He'll wake up, I'm sure of it."

"He better," she warned me. "And he better be fine."

I hung up the call. Edward would be fine, I was sure of it, he just needed time to reawaken from his state.

"Are you ready for the others to come back yet?" I asked Bella.

"Are you?" She countered.

"Don't see why not." I sent out a text message to everyone that it was safe to return.

A few minutes passed before we were joined by Carlisle, Esme and Rose. Alice was still tending to an unconscious Edward wherever they were, and Emmett, of course, was still playing cop with Charlie.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked Bella, arms crossed. She was mad, protective.

"I'm fine," Bella answered. I noted that she didn't flinch when talking to Rose, hopefully she wouldn't be scared around the Cullen's anymore, hopefully she would allow them to be around her.

"Did he-" Carlisle began but I cut him off.

"He didn't hurt her," I answered before he finished. "He cares for her, deeply. I can feel it."

"He said he's not my mate," Bella whispered sadly.

I had no answer for her so I kept quiet on the matter.

"Who broke my vase?" Esme accused looking at us both fiercely.

"The Major," I answered quickly and Esme's anger rose, "But hey, look, he got Bella to eat and she ate everything."

Esme's gaze shifted to Bella's empty plate and her anger disappeared immediately. It was replaced with pride. Towards me? Towards Bella? Towards the Major? I wasn't sure.

"How's your arm Bella? Did Jasper stitch you back up?" Carlisle was worried.

"It's fine. The Major stitched me back up. I could probably do with some painkillers though."

I tested Bella's emotions and I could feel her pain. How could I miss that? I needed to keep a closer eye on her emotions. Carlisle and Esme left the room and Rose turned her attention back to me.

"You sent Emmett off to become a cop?" She questioned me. She was keeping a tight lock on her emotions so I couldn't see where she was going with this.

"The Major did." She sighed frustrated and then seemed to share a look with Bella that I couldn't decipher before disappearing upstairs. "I'll get you another milkshake. You can go up to my room if you like."

"No," Bella panicked straightaway. "I mean, I can help you."

"Sure," I accepted, no need to push her. I grabbed her empty plate off the table and took it to the kitchen, she followed me. I began making her milkshake whilst she just watched me. I had just finished mixing it when I felt a course of amusement run through Bella. I raised my eyebrow in question, she just shook her head and tried to stifle some giggles. "What?" I asked as I picked her up easily and sat her on the countertop. I moved in between her legs. The amusement she was giving off was putting me in a playful mood.

"Hold still," Bella whispered. I complied and she leant forward slightly. She stuck her finger out and swiped a splatter of strawberry milkshake off my nose. She held her finger out in front of me to show me. I don't know what came over me but I leant forward and licked the flavored milk off. Her amusement shifted to surprise. I let her have her finger back and she looked at me amazed.

"What?" I questioned her. She was so close. She smelt so good. The warmth from her legs at my side warmed my cold dead heart instantly. I was leaning forward before I even realized. I saw Bella lick her lips nervously. I leant in further. One millisecond away from my destination, those warm supple pink lips, and Bella turned her head. I was a little disappointed but I didn't let it show. Instead I planted a soft loving kiss on her cheek. I may have slipped my tongue out a little, I just had to taste her skin, I just had to taste her, and damn she tasted good. I pulled back from her, I had no doubt that my eyes were black. She was lucky I had enough self control not to rip her clothes off right now, no, I'd wait until she was ready.

"Sorry," Bella replied as she looked down at her lap.

"Nonsense," I smiled at her as I grabbed her hand within my own. "I said I wasn't going to push you and I'm not." I could feel her gratitude.

I turned around, still holding Bella's hand and helped her onto my back. She held on tight. Her good arm firmly around my neck, surprise coursing through her. I let go of her hand and placed it under her leg, hitching her up higher. I then grabbed her milkshake and headed up to my room.

"You know you don't have to carry me right?" Bella asked me, but I could feel her happiness.

"I know." Truthfully after our near kiss I didn't want to let her go just yet.

I hobbled up the stairs. Leg cast thumping on every step. Juggling Bella on my back, making sure she didn't fall. I kept stumbling and I loved how Bella's grip on me tightened, both her arm around my chest, and her legs around my waist. I made it to the top of the stairs, finally, and turned to see Esme staring up at us. Pride and love coming off her. I smiled at her and headed down the hall to my room. I hitched Bella up higher on my back right before my door, just because I could. I opened the door, set the milkshake down on my bedside table and then safely sat Bella on the bed. I went over to my desk and grabbed two painkillers out of her bag. She took them and drank about half of milkshake along with it. It was so good to see her drinking and eating again. She moved back against the pillows and I joined her on the bed.

"Who's here?" She asked me, somewhat nervous, but not nearly as nervous as before.

"Just Carlisle, Esme and Rose," I informed her. "Edward is apparently still asleep so Alice is looking after him god knows where, and I assume Emmett is still at the police station with your dad."

"And they can hear us?" She asked me again. She always seemed concerned that the others could hear us.

"Yes," I answered honestly.

"Can I try something?" She asked nervously.

"Sure." She motioned for me to come closer to her and I did. I got close enough to her that our knees were touching. She reached out with her good hand and grabbed my hand into her own.

"Grab my other hand too," she instructed me. I reached out and gently laced my fingers with hers sticking out the top of her cast. She closed her eyes and her emotions disappeared completely. She appeared to be concentrating hard. "Close your eyes, clear your mind," she told me.

I did as I was told. I closed my eyes and attempted to clear my mind.

"Rose," she whispered after a little while, "The Major's out, he's trying to attack me."

"What the hell?" I asked as I snapped my eyes open. Something seemed to snap back into Bella. She let go of my hand and held her head. I could feel some pain radiating off her.

"What?" She asked me confused.

"Don't say that. Rose will bust in here and rip my balls off."

Bella smiled. "Do you see Rose in here?"

"No." She was right, where the hell was Rose. She must have blocked us or something. "So you blocked us? Shielded us?" I was beyond confused.

"Yes, I think. Well I tried to extend my shield around you too, like as if it was a physical thing, and I guess it worked."

"Do it again. I want to have my eyes open this time, she if your shield is visible to the eye."

"I'll try." She was feeling nervous now, but I could feel a small amount of confidence coming from her.

She closed her eyes but I kept mine open. I kept my focus on solely on Bella. It was an amazing thing to watch. Her face scrunched up in concentration making her look unbelievably cute, but it was her shield, just visible to the eye, that rippled the air around us, slowly making its way towards me that was more astounding. You'd only be able to see it if you were looking for it, to all humans it would be invisible. I focused on my power, testing the shield, seeing if it gave off anything at all. I could feel it's strength. Now whether this was all Bella's strength projecting through her shield, or whether the shield had a mind of its own, I wasn't sure. I drew my eyes back to Bella as she slowly un-scrunched her face. She was feeling nervous again. I squeezed her hands gently within my own and she slowly opened her eyes. She looked around us straightaway to see if she could see the shield, but her human eyes would never be able to detect it.

"What do you feel?" I asked her. "Is it a strain to shield me as well?"

We had our suspicions that Bella was a shield, but now, seeing her doing it, well it was surreal. It'd be a very powerful power and it would only be enhanced when she became a vampire. Whoa, hold on, became a vampire? Bella wouldn't even let me kiss her yet and here I was thinking about her becoming a vampire, her becoming my mate for life. An eternity with Bella would be heaven, I couldn't deny that now.

"I can feel it surrounding us both." Bella broke me out of my thoughts. "It's a little tiresome, but not much. Like I went for a jog."

"How did you even know you had a shield? How'd you know you could project it?" I asked her. It seemed strange for a human to instinctively know how to do all these things.

"Same way as you did probably," she answered simply.

I thought back to how I discovered my ability. I was still a newborn. I don't remember being able to affect other's emotions when I was human, other than being overly charismatic and having a knack for knowing when people were feeling upset or needed a laugh. Everything changed when Maria and her sisters would become ravenous and start acting like newborns themselves. I was projecting without even knowing it. My main emotion with being a newborn was bloodlust and I projected it to anyone near me. I had no control over my power, didn't even know I had a power, so everything I did, well I did it subconsciously, without thought. And this must be the reason why Edward cannot hear Bella's thoughts, it's just a subconscious instinct.

"Okay, and you figured out you were a shield when exactly?"

"I had my suspicions with James. More of a feeling, a wish. He told me he was upstairs, always listening out for me. I didn't like that he could hear me. I don't like that your family can hear me, hear everything I do. So I began believing, wishing that there was a shield, a shield that protected me from him. I never believed it worked, but I did it anyway. Whenever I did it when James was in the room, well he'd turn to face me a lot, check I was still alive, I guess. It gave me hope that it worked. Then when you told me that Edward couldn't hear my thoughts well I knew it must have been because I still kept a very close guard on my mind. I don't want anyone in there."

"So, down in the kitchen earlier, with all the bloodlust?" I questioned her.

"I knew if I could just protect you. If I could just shield you as well then we'd be alright. If I shielded you then you wouldn't be able to feel their bloodlust anymore. Their bloodlust wouldn't overtake you." She seemed overly worried for me, for my safety, for her safety, that was definitely a good thing.

"Well, thank you."

"And you're sure they can't hear us right now?" She was nervous again.

"I'm sure. I think your little test before was proof enough." I was still surprised that Rose hadn't busted in here yet. This shield really did seem to keep our conversations private and I liked that.

"So, what exactly is going to happen tonight and tomorrow?" She was feeling nervous again.

"Well, tonight you'll sleep in here, you don't have to leave this room if you don't want to. Tomorrow we can just hang around the house until your birthday party, which will include but not be limited to, a bunch of decorations, a ton of food, and a whole lot of presents. It's going to be hell, for you, I may actually enjoy myself." I smiled at her and she returned it with a glare.

"You better not have bought me anything," she seemed defensive.

"Nope. I already gave you an iPod, you ain't getting anything else. That and I can't be bothered thinking up a whole new gift for you." She frowned. She didn't really want another gift did she?

"You promised Esme you'd go hunting tomorrow," she reminded me. That's right, I did. "I'm not staying here by myself and Esme won't let you put it off."

I made sure we were still shielded before I spoke. "Then come with me."

"Come with you? Hunting?" She seemed scared now.

"Sure. I only snack on animals. I'll put you up in a tree and you can watch if you want. Well as long as you don't fall out of the tree." She was unsure. "It's either that or you stay here with whichever vampires happen to be home at the time."

"Fine," she gritted.

She'd be safe. I'd make sure of it.

"Ready for bed yet? You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Sure, but." Nervousness and embarrassment was slowly overtaking her body. "Umm, I need to use the bathroom. Can you-" he embarrassment spiked further.

"I can escort you." I stepped down from the bed and I could feel the safety of Bella's shield retreat. I was no longer protected. I held out my hand for her and she took it. I helped her down and walked her to the bathroom across the hall. I opened the door and let her enter. "I'll be right here."

I felt Bella extend her shield and then she spoke. "I don't want them to hear me, but I don't want you to hear me either."

Dilemma. It's not like I wanted to listen in.

"You keep me shielded and the others won't be able to hear, and I promise to make sure that I won't listen in." She was skeptical. "I promise."

"Who's here?" She asked me suddenly.

"Just Carlisle, Esme and Rose," I answered and a wave of determination surged forward from her.

"Can you grab the bag of clothes Alice got from my house and my backpack?" I was gone and back in front of her before she could blink. "Thank you, and remember, no listening in."

She closed the door and I made sure to send myself a whole bunch of confusion and freeness. It gave me a feeling akin to being high on drugs. I could not focus on anything if I tried. I don't know how long I was like that, not willing to sober myself up unless Bella was finished. I felt something warm on my cheek and I leant into it. It felt so nice, so soft, so warm. "Jasper," the most wonderful voice spoke my name. I closed my eyes to hear it clearer. "Jasper," it spoke again. I'm sure I had the dopiest smile on my face. "Jasper," it seemed irritable now, but I could not make sense of it at all, and then I sobered up when my face hit the floor. What the hell.

I groaned and turned so I was laying on my back.

"Welcome back," Bella smirked at me. I suddenly missed the freeing feeling of my drugged up state.

"All done?" I questioned as I got to my feet. She nodded her head. I grabbed her bags off her and led her back to my room.

I sat back on the bed and closed my eyes in an attempt to relax back into my usual emotional state.

"Jasper?" Bella questioned me nervously.

"Yeah," I reopened my eyes.

"Can you, umm, would you, umm, wear this again," she lifted the dreaded green sweatshirt into view. I let out a groan. "It's just, when I got it, well it smelled like you, and now, well, I can't smell you on it much anymore."

"I hate that sweatshirt." Her face fell at my comment.

"Is that why you gave it to me then?" She was sad again.

"No. Not even close." There was no way I was telling Bella that the whole reason she had the sweatshirt was because I had to give it to her in order to stake my claim on her. She eyed me expectantly, nope, I wasn't touching that one. She must have realized that I wasn't going to elaborate, she was feeling sad again. "Just give it here," I sighed as I held out my hand for it. She handed it to me and I put it on.

"For the record," Bella spoke quietly with a small smile on her face, "I think it looks good on you."

Oh really?

"I still don't like it." I really didn't. I don't know why. Years of being forced into clothes by Alice? The fact that growing up in the 1850's there was nothing quite like a hooded sweatshirt? I don't know. But I knew I'd wear it for Bella. Bella hopped up on the bed and laid back against the pillows. "You tired?" I asked her.

"Yeah." She yawned.

"Do you want-" I stopped mid sentence attempting to rephrase. "Where do you want me?"

"Can you stay with me." She was feeling nervous again.

"Sure." I scooted over so that I was laying back against the pillows too.

"Hey," Bella whispered.

"Yeah?"

"When you sleep are you still conscious, I mean, if danger is present do you sense it?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Will you sleep with me tonight, hold me?" She was scared. Scared I'd say no, I suppose.

"Bella," I pulled her gently by the shirt so that she rested against me. "How could I deny myself another chance to hold you." Embarrassment. Shit did I say that out loud. Yes, I did. "Get under the blankets," I instructed her, trying to draw away from the situation before it became awkward. She worked her way under the blankets and I immediately wrapped my arms around her.

She settled back against my chest. "Don't let them get me." She was frightened now.

"I won't. I promise." I kissed her behind the ear, at her hairline, and got a strong aroma of strawberries, mmm, she'd showered tonight.

"Don't forget to sleep," she mumbled. "I don't want you to watch me sleep, that's creepy." She was becoming incoherent now.

"I won't." Her breathing leveled out and she soon fell asleep. I took one last note of how warm she felt against my body and how good she smelt before I sent myself a sleep cocktail. If I could dream, well I knew that I would be dreaming of Bella tonight.

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><p><strong>AN- **Now, I wanted to add Bella's party in this chapter but it's long enough already, so that's up next, and the update won't take as long this time, I promise.

As always, review and tell me what you thought


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N- **We reached 500 reviews people, congratulations, so awesome. Wasn't sure if it would be this chapter or the next, but as I took so long to update it was this chapter. Well done everyone. I read them all and they are always appreciated, and they always inspire me to keep on writing. Basically you keep on reviewing and I'll keep on writing, yes, it's as simple as that :)

Enjoy

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><p>It was morning and I had just woken up to the best feeling, warm Bella, asleep in my arms, head buried in the crook of my shoulder. Her warmth was probably the thing I loved about her most, it always warmed me up, made me feel human again. I brushed the hair away from her exposed shoulder, her shirt had ridden down in the night, and planted a soft kiss on the exposed skin. She moved a little before burying herself back into my shoulder. It was a pleasant night sleep. I only woke once when Alice and Edward returned. I was ready to protect Bella if need be, but Edward seemed groggy from waking up. The Major probably shouldn't have knocked him out, but as a result Edward went straight to his room, with Alice, no problems. I stayed awake a bit longer, but he didn't even leave his couch, so I went to sleep once again. Now I was torn. I was fully awake and a part of me wanted to wake Bella up, but another part of me wanted to let her sleep. I was bored, so I decided to wake her up.<p>

"Bella?" I shook her shoulder gently. "Bella?"

"No," she mumbled as she attempted to bury her head even further into my shoulder.

"Happy Birthday," I whispered and she groaned.

"Is it too late to change it?" She was still half asleep it seemed.

"Yes," I laughed. She was so cute at the moment. So completely uncensored. She obviously didn't realize where she was yet.

"When I'm a vampire I will not allow this," she pouted.

What? A vampire? She's thinking about this?

"What?" Please continue, don't wake up fully now.

She pulled her head away from my shoulder. "You're a vampire."

"Yes." Please continue.

"I'm human."

Kill me now. "Yes."

"That's not going work forever."

"Forever?" Does she realize what we're talking about.

A pause.

"What?" Her voice was clearer now.

"You're awake?"

"Yes." She was feeling confused. Surely she remembers what we just talked about.

"Do you know where you are?" I questioned her.

"Yes, in a houseful of vampires," she was looking at me like I was stupid.

"You're not shielding." It was a statement.

"No." What the hell happened? I looked at her confused and she continued. "I had a dream last night. Sometimes I have dreams of the future, past, I don't know, I just know that they feel real." She paused. I didn't interrupt her. "So yeah, I had a dream last night."

She didn't continue.

"And?" I prompted her.

"And, what?" She questioned me. "I had a dream, doesn't mean I need to share it with you."

What?

"So, as a result of this dream you don't need to shield yourself anymore?" Why wouldn't she just tell me.

"Not at the moment."

Why does she feel the need to keep things from me?

"Breakfast," I heard Esme call from downstairs.

"Esme has breakfast ready for you," I told Bella.

"You're upset," she stated.

"Yes." No point hiding the fact.

"I don't have to tell you everything." She was feeling defiant.

"I know you don't have to, but things would be simpler if you did. I still don't know everything about your abduction. I know you're keeping something from me, something important. I haven't pushed you into telling me even though I know that it would be for the best."

"The Major?"

"No, this is all me." Her face fell, what the hell was up with her and the Major?

"If I thought it was relevant and that you needed to know, then I'd tell you."

"Esme's waiting," I reminded her somewhat bitterly.

"You're not coming down?" I shook my head no in response. "Are we still going out this morning, you know," she shielded us briefly, "To hunt."

"Yes."

"Okay." She got off the bed and cautiously made her way to the door.

She stopped at the door and I heard her turn around. Before she faced me again I turned so that I was facing away from her. I was immediately crushed by her disappointment, but she could make it downstairs by herself. I kept a close eye on her emotions, as well as a close eye on where everyone was in the house. Fortunately Emmett was still with Charlie, Carlisle was at the hospital, and Edward wasn't here, I could not feel his emotions at all. So, the only ones here were the females, Esme, Rose and Alice. Bella would be fine with them, they all loved her, plus it would give her a chance to interact with the others without me being by her side.

Nothing important happened. I got changed for the day whilst Bella made her way into the kitchen, sitting down at the counter. Esme stayed in the kitchen and Rose joined them. Alice was still in her room. I tested her emotions, it seemed as though she wanted to go downstairs but she was afraid that she would overwhelm Bella. I could hear Bella giving Rose and Esme one word answers as she ate her food. She was eating, good. Her emotions were relatively fine, just a little nervousness, nothing to worry about. I got lost in her emotions. They gave off a different feel to other human beings, I don't know if it was just because she was my mate, but I loved her emotional makeup, it was pleasant, even when she was feeling negative emotions. I was so caught up that I didn't realize Edward was back before he spoke.

"Bella?" Edward said tentatively. I was out of my room and beside Bella before he could say anymore. I stood in front of her, facing away from Edward. "I just want to talk to her," Edward all but pleaded.

I placed my hands on Bella's shoulders and looked into her eyes. This was her decision to make now. I cocked my eyebrow at her, it was a universal action, covering a lot of things, she'd know what I mean. I could feel her surprise and her fear. I frowned, she was scared of him. I ran my hands down her arms and laced my fingers with hers, being careful of her broken arm. She shielded us immediately.

"It's your choice," I told her honestly.

"I don't know what to do."

"You're afraid?" I already knew the answer but I asked her anyway.

"Yes. What if he bites me?"

I laughed. "He won't bite you."

"Why not?" She was feeling confused.

"Because I won't let him get that close. I will never let anyone hurt you," I promised her.

"What do I do?"

"I don't know. He was feeling pretty desperate, maybe it's something he needs to do."

She was thoughtful. "And you won't let him hurt me."

"Never."

She drew her shield back and nodded her head. I leant forward and planted a soft kiss on her forehead, before letting her go and stepping aside. Bella stepped forward cautiously and nodded her head weakly at Edward.

"Jasper?" Edward questioned. So now he asks for permission.

I turned around and faced him. "Go ahead." Edward took a step back and motioned towards the living room. I could feel Bella's fear spike and she looked at me desperately. "Rose, go with them."

"Okay," Rose was determined, I knew she would never let him hurt her.

They walked into the living room and I turned my attention back to the kitchen, surveying Bella's plate to make sure that she ate everything, she did.

"I came as fast as I could," Carlisle burst through the door his eyes falling on me. He was excited but it quickly turned to disappointment. "They're not doing it anymore."

Doing what? I turned my attention to Esme confused.

"They just finished," Esme answered. I was still confused. "It was like there was a shield around them. We couldn't hear a word they were saying."

"A shield?" Carlisle thought out loud.

Right, Bella and I were using her shield in front of everyone. I didn't even think about that.

"Bella's a shield," I confirmed and Carlisle turned his attention to me.

"To what extent?"

"I don't know. She can shield me easily, it blocks me from the others, like we're in our own little bubble. She hasn't tried to shield anyone else yet."

"Interesting." Carlisle, of course.

"It will be very powerful," I told him before turning my attention back to Bella. She was still feeling a small piece of fear, but she was okay.

I turned my attention to their conversation.

"What else has Jasper told you?" Edward seemed angry, not the best emotion to be feeling around Bella, but I trusted Rose enough not to burst into the room.

"You're a mind reader yet you can't read my mind," Bella answered confidently, even with the fear she was feeling. "Also that you're my singer."

"So you know that I want to bite you?" Edward asked her, he was feeling sadness now.

"I know that it is harder for you than the others, yes, but that doesn't mean that I don't believe that you're strong enough to resist. Strong enough to know wrong from right." She was lying through her teeth, her fear was still present, she was still scared of him.

"You- You believe in me?" Edward stuttered, yes Edward stuttered and I loved my girl a little more right now, she knew how to deal with Edward it seemed, how to placate him, which is more than I had the patience for at times.

"Yes, I believe in you." She was still lying, fear ever present. Edward was none the wiser though. "Now if you'll excuse me Jasper and I are heading out this morning."

I heard Bella get up to leave.

"Bella," Edward called. "Do you love Jasper?"

I so wanted to know the answer to this one.

"Yes," she answered without missing a beat. I check her emotions and it appeared she was telling the truth. What the hell was her dream about? She almost seemed sure in her feelings towards me and becoming a vampire, so weird. She walked past me and rested her hand on my cheek briefly before disappearing upstairs.

I knew one thing for sure, Bella would be telling me about her dream one way or another. I just needed to know what it was about.

"So, you and Bella seem closer," Carlisle stated and I could feel his pride again.

"Yeah, we just fit together." It was true and even I found it weird. Must be a mate thing.

"Phone," Alice said as she came into the room and chucked her phone at me. Was she still pissed about the whole knocking Edward unconscious thing, I mean, he seemed fine now.

I grabbed the phone and noticed she had a text message from a blocked number. It read:

_See you soon Fucker, and get a new fucking phone. -Peter. Oh yeah this is for Jasper, Pixie, thanks. _

Peter was coming, why? Maybe he wanted to meet Bella, I wasn't sure. "Here," I said as I handed Alice's phone back. I tested her emotions and she was annoyed. "Relax," I told her, "Edward is fine."

"Yes, thankfully." She spun on her heel and exited the room.

I heard Bella coming back down the stairs so I waited for her.

"You ready?" Bella asked me. She was dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and a pair of boots.

"Sure, you need a jacket though."

"I was hoping you'd just give me the sweatshirt back." I looked down at the green sweatshirt I was still wearing. I didn't hesitate as I pulled it off and handed it to her.

"Gladly," I smiled at her. It looked better on her anyway, one size too big, perfect.

"Where are you kids going?" Esme asked us, Carlisle at her side.

I was about to answer when Bella beat me to it.

"Jasper said there's something he wants to show me in the forest," Bella lied easily, I just agreed.

"Well, don't be long, it's cold out and your party starts at lunch," Esme told us.

"Lunch," I could feel Bella's amusement.

"We'll be back shortly," I assured them. "Why don't you get Alice to set up everything whilst we're out."

"Good idea." Esme.

"Bye," I called before leading Bella out the back door. "Have fun lying today?" I asked Bella once we reached the tree line.

"They were necessary lies," she assured me. "They're all going to know where you took me when we get back. Your eyes will tell them this."

"Bella," I grabbed her arm and stopped her, this was serious. "You're going to tell me about your dream, the long version, the short version, I don't care, but we're not leaving this forest without me knowing."

"Okay," Bella accepted and I let go of her arm.

We got to the river, now this would be a problem. One vampire with his foot incased in plaster. One human with a broken arm. And a freaking river. I turned my attention to Bella and held out my arms, she didn't hesitate, I picked her up and cradled her to my chest. I took a few steps back before launching myself and Bella over the river. We landed on the others side but my cast slipped on mud and we went sliding. I kept Bella in my arms and away from the ground. We finally came to stop against a tree. "Stupid cast," I muttered as I stood up with Bella still in my arms. "You alright?" I set her down on her feet and examined her. She had a couple of scratches on her cheek from the tree branches. Seriously, I could not go anywhere with Bella without injuring her.

"It's just a scratch," Bella reassured me. "It barely hurts."

I was not happy that she was hurt again. If she was a vampire this wouldn't have happened. If I wasn't forced to wear this cast then it wouldn't have happened either. I didn't waste any time before ripping the blasted thing off and throwing it as far away as I could. Take that stupid cast, and there was no way I was going to wear another one. I then touched Bella's face gently, examining the scratches, they were small, only a little blood had seeped out. I tested her emotions and she was only feeling discomfort, no pain.

"Let's go," I picked her up again and she wrapped her legs around my back, her head buried safely in my chest. It was so good moving without a cast once again, so freeing. I could run as fast as I liked and I knew I wouldn't slip again. It was good. I was actually surprised that the cast lasted as long as it did. I made it to a clearing and after letting Bella regain her bearings I set her down. I took one step away from her and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath, I could smell some deer not far away from here. "Come on," I took Bella by her good hand and walked towards the trees again.

"You're not really going to put me up in a tree are you?" She was fearful. I cocked my eyebrow at her, wanting her to continue. "Because I will fall out of that tree, no maybe's, I will fall."

"Relax." She was panicking. "I'm not stupid enough to put you in a tree." She sighed in relief. "Just stay close to me, you'll be fine. It will be like that movie Bambi, but without the mother being shot... Just her being sucked dry."

"Yeah, because that's so much better," Bella said sarcastically as she followed me into the forest.

"Just don't trip," I playfully quipped back. My comment was rewarded with a glare, but I really didn't need her to hurt herself anymore.

We reached the herd of deer and I held my hand out for her to stop, she did, but she spoke.

"Oh look, deer," Bella said in childhood amazement.

"Ssshhh!" I whispered to Bella. She shut her mouth but I could still feel her amazement. Oh yeah, she's just going to love me slaughtering these poor little defenseless deer. "Stay behind me, close," I whispered as I stalked forward. "And be quiet."

You could sneak up on deer if you were smart about it, but I knew with Bella in toe that I'd only get so far before she tripped, or talked, or something. So when I knew I was as far as I could get, I pounced. It was a big pounce and I broke the deer's neck expertly before jumping onto the next one before it had a chance to run away. I broke its neck too. I could feel Bella's amazement, but also some disgust. I grabbed both of my kills, the rest of the herd had bolted, and I dragged them back to Bella. I sat them in front of her, presenting my kill to her. This would be a prelude to sexual intercourse if Bella was a vampire, but she wasn't, so...

"Jasper?" She questioned not able to tear her eyes off the dead deer in front of her. "What the hell?"

I bent down on one knee. "Turn around if you don't want to watch then."

I picked up the lifeless deer and Bella had enough sense to turn around, good. As soon as her back was to me I sunk my teeth into the deer and sucked it dry before moving onto the other one.

"I can hear you?" Bella was still feeling disgusted.

"It's this or human blood," I somehow managed to get out with a mouthful of blood.

"Jasper," Bella began as she spun around, bad move. My eyes were pitch black, I was feeling territorial, but I had enough sense to know that she wasn't a threat. No, it was in her eyes, there was something more than disgust, something I couldn't place. This would either be okay, or really, really bad. I finished off my meal as Bella stood there in silence. Her emotions were shifting, she was deciding where she stood about this.

With both carcasses drained I dug a shallow grave with my hands and dumped the deer in before covering it back up. I wiped my hands clean on my jeans as I made my way back to Bella.

"So?" I questioned her.

"You're not supposed to talk with your mouth full." Her eyes were trained on the ground.

"Sorry," I apologized. "You're okay though, you understand that I have to do this, that it's the lesser of two evils?"

"Yes," her voice faltered. She cleared her throat and looked up at me. "Yes," she repeated more clearly, more confidently.

"Good." It was definitely good, no need for a freak-out. "Now on the way back how about you tell me about this dream of yours." I grabbed her hand in mine and began leading her out of the forest.

"Well it was just a dream," she began, backtracking on her previous view of it being a dream of the future or past. I let her continue how she wished. "It was of the future, don't know when. I was a vampire." Well that explained her vampire talk this morning. "Everyone was there, everyone but you." I frowned, why wasn't I there. "But we were mated it seemed. I felt a pull, but I knew you were okay. Charlotte said you were off with Peter, bonding." How did she know those names, maybe she really did have prophetic dreams. I had not told Bella about Peter and Charlotte yet. "Rose and Alice were doting over me. Carlisle and Esme were smiling proudly. Edward and Emmett were nearby, I could hear them but I couldn't see them. Charlie was also there."

Charlie was there? Maybe this was just a dream after all.

"Charlie?" I questioned her.

"Yes," she blushed, but didn't care to elaborate, another secret she wished to keep I assume.

I'd let her keep it for now. Everything she told me, how she saw herself a part of the family, was enough for me. She believed this to be the future, so she'd strive to achieve that now I assume. She didn't seem upset with what she saw. I stopped and picked Bella up in my arms before racing back home. I had the information I wanted, there was no reason to spend any extra time in the forest. We made it back inside and I sat Bella safely down on the couch.

"What happened to your cast?" Carlisle asked me as he and Esme joined us in the living room.

"Bella's face," I answered as I sat down next to her and examined her cheek again, she rolled her eyes at me. She was fine, I knew that, but I still wanted to check.

"What happened?" I could feel Carlisle and Esme's concern.

"Jasper tripped," Bella answered for me and I glared at her. "But I'm fine, it's just a scratch."

Carlisle came forward and turned her cheek into the light. "Okay," he accepted, "But at least let me put some Neosporin on it."

"Okay," Bella accepted. Carlisle raced upstairs, grabbed the stuff, and put the cream on Bella's face. He was fast, I don't think it even registered in Bella's mind.

"Emmett and Charlie are on their way," Alice said excitedly as she came into the room. "Bella you stay here, everyone else follow me."

Bella grabbed onto my hand tightly.

"I'll stay with Bella," I told Alice.

She frowned, before accepting the fact that I wasn't going to leave Bella's side.

"This is going to be bad, isn't it?" Bella whispered to me even though everyone could hear her clear as day.

"Probably," I answered with a smile before kissing her temple reassuringly.

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><p><strong>AN- **Now I added the 'Bella dream power' as when I was reading Breaking Dawn I thought that was where Stephenie Meyer was going with it, but then it turned out to be nothing and I was disappointed. So I'm not sure if it will be explained further or even come into place again, but Bella can have dreams of the future, like in Breaking Dawn, just think of it like a power/ability. If need be I'll explain it better later on.

Also Bella's party was supposed to be in this chapter but I had to postpone it, it's for the best anyway, trust me.

You should still find out about the Major not being Bella's mate, as well as a lot of answers to your other questions, in the next chapter, but I'm not promising that, haha.

Review and tell me what you thought, and I'll try my best to make sure most of your questions are answered in the next chapter, it's going to be good, trust me.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing guys, very much appreciated.

Sorry it took so long, it's been so hectic with the holidays and all.

Okay a lot of you liked the addition of Bella's dream power and hated that SM didn't really do anything with it, so I'm going to add it to the story. I'll write more on it when the time comes.

Enjoy

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><p>"They're here," I told Bella as I heard Emmett and Charlie enter the house.<p>

"What's going on?" Bella asked me.

"Emmett's trying to tell Carlisle something but Alice is ushering them towards the others."

"Oh god, they're not going to jump out and say surprise are they?"

I laughed at Bella's dread. "No." I could instantly feel Bella's relief. "Alice is just gathering everyone up, letting them know the game plan."

"And what is the game plan?" Bella asked, ever nervous.

"She's giving them the order in which they are to give you your presents, she's also telling Edward to keep his distance from you."

"Jasper we're ready," I heard Alice call out and I was surprised that she didn't come and get Bella herself. "Let her enter first."

"It's time," I alerted Bella and her nervousness spiked.

"Relax, I'll be by your side the whole time." I stood up and grabbed her hand and she proceeded to grab my hand back in a death grip.

I basically had to pull her towards the others. She was dragging her feet the whole time. I suddenly felt her shield surround me and I turned to look at her.

"When I'm a vampire this won't be happening." She was so serious, so self assured, so fierce. I didn't doubt her for a second. I nodded in confirmation and she drew her shield back. Her grip lessened as we approached the door. I looked at her and she had a fake smile plastered in place.

I reached forward and let Bella enter first.

"Surprise!" Emmett yelled out. The others joined in half way through as they got confused, so it came out haphazardly. Alice was not happy at all, nor was Bella by the swift hit she placed on my shoulder. What? I cocked my eyebrow at her. Like I was to know that Emmett would yell out surprise.

"Present time," Alice said after she recovered from the mishap. "Mine first."

Alice went over to the table and before she could return I collapsed into the closest chair and pulled Bella onto my lap. Bella didn't hesitate as she leant back against my chest. She extended her shield and then whispered into my ear.

"Protect me. Keep me sane. If you must manipulate my emotions then I give you permission."

I nodded and she pulled back her shield. I would only manipulate her emotions as a last resort.

"Impressive," Carlisle spoke. I tore my eyes away from Bella and everyone was looking on amazed.

Alice recovered first. "Here Bella," she handed over a small card sized envelope. "I don't know you that well so I didn't know what to get you, next year will be better I assure you."

The thought of repeating this again next year didn't sit well with Bella. I placed my hand on her back, I wasn't manipulating her, just offering her some comfort, and she took it. She ripped open Alice's fancy envelope, Alice didn't like that, and she pulled out a $1,000 dollar gift card for some high end clothes store. Bella did not like that at all. Her emotions shifted quickly to dissatisfaction and her face was beginning to follow. I could tell Bella was trying to fight it but she was losing the battle. I sent Bella a quick, strong, dose of gratitude and it did the trick.

"Thank you Alice, that was very thoughtful," Bella responded and it sounded genuine.

Alice squealed excitedly and clapped her hands together, obviously please with Bella's reaction. After Alice retreated Bella smiled at me and I could feel her gratitude towards me. I smiled back.

Rose stepped forward next. She handed Bella an unwrapped wooden box, said nothing, and stepped back. Bella nervously unlatched the box and opened it up cautiously. Bella was blocking my view but I got a burst of happiness from her and it made me smile. Her happiness was beautiful. I leant forward to look at what she received. It was a set of paints, an expensive set of paints, and Bella seemed to love them.

"Thank you," Bella spoke nervously as her and Rose shared another look that I couldn't decipher. This was the second time this had happened. I wondered what they were silently discussing. Wondering how they could understand each other without really knowing each other.

Emmett took one step forward but came no further. He held up a box and shook it. I could feel Bella's confusion.

"A CD player for your truck," Emmett told her, he was nervous. "Already installed it for you. Plus Rose and I fixed up the engine too, made it run a little smoother, quieter."

I could feel Bella's gratitude, but she was feeling guarded, probably because Emmett was holding back. "Thanks Emmett."

Emmett relaxed a little and smiled back at her.

Carlisle and Esme stepped forward next, they were also keeping their distance, but they came closer than Emmett did.

"We weren't sure what to get you either," Esme spoke carefully.

"Yes," Carlisle agreed with a small laugh, Bella's nervousness was lessening in their presence. Good. "But there is only one thing we wish to give you, no matter how much we know you, or don't know you." Bella's nervousness spiked a little, but I could tell she was just worried about what they had gotten her.

"We would like to extend an invitation to you," Esme was feeling excited. "An invitation for you to join our family, for you to share this home as your own. I know we don't know you well, but the changes we've seen in Jasper this past week, well you've brought forth a side of him we always knew was there but that he always kept hidden."

I could feel their pride towards me again. I leant towards Bella and hid my face behind her hair at the nape of her neck. Their pride still crushed me and I don't think I'd ever get used to it. Suddenly Bella pulled away from me and stood up. I immediately missed the comfort she offered me. I looked up as she tentatively brought Esme into a hug. I was surprised. Was this another strange reaction from Bella's dream of the future? Either way Esme didn't hesitate to hug her back, whilst Carlisle placed a reassuring hand on her back. Bella stepped away and sat back down on my lap. I leant forward again, but Bella pulled away and turned to face me. She was challenging me. I cocked my eyebrow, what was she getting at. Bella extended her shield.

"Don't hide," she told me seriously. "They just love you."

"Nobody loves me," I told her just as seriously.

"You don't honestly believe that?" She was feeling sorry for me. I shrugged my shoulders in response. I knew they felt a kind of love towards me, but- "Seriously," Bella grabbed my face and turned my head to face her. "They love you." She was being assertive again, fierce, I liked it.

"Okay," I accepted. I knew she wasn't going to back down. I found that I liked this new side of Bella, her confidence and fierceness was beautiful. She gave me another look, challenging me to defy her. I wouldn't, not today at least. I kept my mouth shut and she drew her shield back.

I could feel the others disbelief again. I didn't need to look at them to know that they were looking at us again.

"Edward," Alice prompted and Edward stepped forward.

My grip on Bella tightened straight away. Bella spun and cocked her eyebrow at me. What was with her today? She was telling me to back down. I held my hands up in surrender, I wouldn't intervene if she didn't want me to. Bella smiled and turned back to face Edward.

"I, umm," Edward spoke nervously, "I wrote you a song, on the piano, if you want to hear it."

"A song?" Bella questioned confused. Edward nodded nervously. "Okay, then."

Edward moved towards the door and Bella stood. I stayed seated just in case she didn't want me to come, but as soon as she stood she turned around and reached her hand out to me. I took it and we all made our way to the music room, even Charlie who had been observing everything quietly from the corner. I caught his eye on the way past and he frowned at me. I was going to question him but Bella pulled me through the door.

We made it to the music room. Edward sat at the piano, I took the chair by the door, Bella didn't hesitate to sit in my lap, I guess she felt safe there. The others all stood around the room and waited for Edward to begin playing. He began and we all listened. It was a good song, I guess, sad, full of longing. Not exactly ideal to play for a girl who's suffered through a traumatic experience before.

I tensed up and began playing with a thread on Bella's t-shirt. Bella was feeling amazement along with slight discomfort. Was she picking up on his true intentions as well? I wrapped the thread around my finger and began to pull it. Bella placed her hand on top of mine to still me. She was still focused on Edward, Edward and his piano. I played, I was good too, but Edward never allowed me near his precious piano. I bet I could play a song that Bella would love. Sure I couldn't compose like Edward could, but I could play flawlessly thanks to my vampire skills. Maybe I could play her something on guitar, then she'd… then she'd think I was just copying off Edward. No thank you.

"You're projecting," Bella whispered. Edward was still playing. How long did this ode to Bella go for? Seriously. "Jasper, what the hell?" I snapped out of it and turned my attention to Bella, she had us shielded.

"What?" I feigned confusion.

"You're projecting envy." Yeah. "Why? Are you jealous of Edward?"

Ha. "No."

"Then what?" She was feeling confusion.

"I can play piano." Even I could tell that I sounded like a spoilt five year old.

"Hey," Bella rested her hand on my cheek, I met her eyes. "I'd be more than happy to listen to you play sometime."

"Really?" No need to tell her about how Edward won't even let me near the thing, I was surprised he even allowed us all in the room.

"Yes."

I smiled a small smile and she smiled back.

"So, do you like his song?" I asked her.

"I guess, it's kind of depressing though, and completely full of not so hidden meanings."

"I know right."

"It's sweet of him though." Bella pulled her shield back. Edward had stopped playing and was glaring at us. Whoops! Edward didn't say anything, he just glared at us, well me, one more time before storming off. Bella got up, but I grabbed her hand. Everyone promptly left the room. "Let me go after him."

"Why? He's a big boy."

"Let me go, now." Fierce Bella was back. Oh, I wanted to kiss her so badly right now. "You can listen in if you want, but I'm going. I'll be fine."

"Okay," I accepted. I let Bella go and I followed her to the back door.

"Where is he?" She asked me. I sensed the area around the house for him, he wasn't that hard to find, brooding as usual.

"Out the back, by the trees, just head straight and you'll find him."

"Thank you," she was sincere, she knew the sacrifice I was making by allowing her to go off with him alone.

She left the house and I kept a close eye on her. She had just made it to Edward when something else caught my attention. Emmett and Carlisle were up in Carlisle's study discussing the body found in the woods. I tried to keep my focus on Bella and Edward but it was a losing battle when Emmett mentioned an unknown vampire. I kept a tight grasp on Bella and Edward's emotions, but I turned my attention to the conversation going on upstairs.

"A vampire?" Carlisle question confused. "And you're sure?"

"Yes. Charlie took me to the crime scene where the body was found and it reeked of vampire," Emmett explained.

"Just a nomad passing through?" Carlisle questioned concerned.

"Maybe, it's too soon to tell. As long as another body doesn't turn up we'll be alright."

"I guess you're right son, no need to worry over nothing. It's only one body at this stage."

"Plus I'll try and dig up some more clues whilst I'm assisting Chief Swan."

"Good idea, and how's that working out for you? Is Charlie on board?"

"It's good. It took a little convincing but Chief Swan said that he would show me the ropes for two weeks and then we'd all sit down and have a discussion."

I was glad that Charlie had taken a liking to Emmett, it's always good to have a man on the inside. I turned my attention back to Bella and Edward.

"I just don't understand, explain it to me Bella?" Edward seemed desperate.

I looked out the back window. I couldn't see them as they were behind the trees, but I could sense them.

"He's my mate," Bella replied, confident, sure of herself.

"You're only saying that because that's what he told you." Bella stayed quiet on that remark, smart. "He's probably just manipulating your emotions, making you like him."

"How dare you," Bella spat, fierce Bella was back again, and her remark was followed by a loud crash. I wanted to run out there so bad but I held my ground, Bella's emotions were fine. "Jasper just gets me, he doesn't manipulate me. You, Edward, are just an ass. A brat who always gets what he wants. I don't want you Edward, I never have. You'd be wise to get that into your head or I'll hurt you worse next time."

She didn't wait for him to reply before heading back to the house, back to me.

"I love you," I brought her into a hug and kissed her on the forehead.

"Thanks." She hugged me tightly, breathing me in.

I looked towards the trees to see Edward approaching the house. He was covered in dirt and his shirt was torn. I let out a laugh.

"What'd you do to him," I pulled Bella out of the hug and looked at her proudly.

"He was being an ass."

"Yes, a common occurrence."

"I got angry."

"Yes." Please confirm my suspicions.

"I extended my shield and it, I don't know, threw him against a tree or two, like a force field I guess."

I extended my pride so that Bella could feel what I felt towards her. She would make a fantastic vampire, I couldn't wait for the day.

"I love you," I repeated again. I could say it all day, call me a sap, but I was too happy to care.

She placed her hand on my cheek and her eyes bore into mine. I could feel her love towards me but also her reservations, she wasn't ready to say it out loud yet and I was okay with that.

"Time for cake," Alice announced, loud enough for Bella to hear.

"Cake?" Bella questioned as she buried her head into my chest.

I wrapped my arms around her. "Get through this and you're home free."

"Really?" She was skeptical.

"As far as I know." She frowned. "Either way I think it's safe for you to decline any further activities after cake, you've done your duty."

"Okay, cake, and then we're done?" She was still a little skeptical.

"I promise."

I walked Bella into the dining room and it was decked out in decorations. Everyone was already in the room, including a clean Edward sulking in the corner. I stepped forward as Charlie brushed past me. He was currently feeling shock and slight alarm. I looked at him but he seemed fine, smiling and everything. Maybe he was just feeling overwhelmed by being in a houseful of vampires without actually knowing it.

"Here's the knife to cut the cake, Alice," Charlie passed her the knife and then came and stood by Bella and I. "How are you Jasper?" He was feeling concern and mistrust.

"Fine Charlie, thanks for asking."

"Okay," came his gruff reply. "Here Bells." He passed her a present, she frowned.

"You didn't have to get me anything dad," she took the present off him anyway.

"It's nothing exciting, plus Alice helped me out," Charlie mumbled.

Bella's nervousness spiked and for good reason, Alice's presents were usually outlandish and something you never even wanted. She unwrapped it cautiously and pulled out a black leather jacket that looked a hell of a lot like the one Alice got me, the one that Bella borrowed and never gave back.

"Oh, wow, thanks dad. I love it," Bella was genuinely happy.

"That's okay kid, I thought with your own, well then you could give Jasper his back."

"Sure dad, very thoughtful." She left my side and brought him into a hug. "And thank you Alice."

"Not a problem," Alice smiled back. "Time for cake."

"Hey," Bella said as she rejoined my side, "What happened to your shirt?"

"Huh?" She pulled my sleeve forward and it was ripped. I shrugged my shoulders. "I have no idea." It wasn't that big of a cut and the shirt could easily be replaced. "I probably just caught it on something."

Alice brought out the cake, extravagant as ever. We just had to get through this and we'd be right, and Bella knew that, she was being a great sport. The candles were lit, Bella was seated at the head of the table, me by her side. Everyone sung and then she made a wish and blew out the candles. As soon as the applause finished she grabbed my hand and shielded us.

"What?" I asked her confused. "You're done."

"Do you want to know what I wished for?" She asked me.

"Isn't there some rule that if you tell someone then it doesn't come true?" I questioned confused.

"Yeah, but you're undead, so I don't think it applies to you."

"Ouch Bella, ouch," I mocked her and she swatted me across the chest lightly. "Okay, if you want to tell me then I'll listen."

"I wished that I'd find my way, that everything would just fit into place, that everything would be as it was before everything happened, well apart from my mom, I know nothing can bring her back."

"I'll help you Bella, in any way that I can," I promised her.

"Thank you."

Bella pulled her shield back and Charlie was giving off a lot of confusion, shit, what did he think we were doing under the cover of the shield? Thankfully I didn't have to address his confusion as he got a phone call and stepped out of the room to take it.

"Another body?" Charlie's concerned voice reached us all, everyone but Bella. I tensed immediately, another body? Was it from the same vampire? This could be trouble. "No, no, I'll be right there. Yes. Okay, see you soon."

Bella noticed me tense up but I said nothing.

Charlie came back into the room. "That was the station Bells, I've got to go. They've found another body out in the woods, we might be looking at foul play. I don't know how long this is going to take and I don't want you going anywhere alone, so-"

"She can stay here Charlie, it's no problem," Carlisle spoke up.

"Really, thank you. And Jasper?" He seemed unsure, but his emotions finally settled down. "Don't let her out of your sight, okay?"

"Dad," Bella protested.

"I won't," I promised him.

"Emmett are you coming?"

Emmett's excitement went through the roof. "Yes, sir."

They promptly left and Bella turned her attention to me.

"What's going on? And don't tell me nothing because I know it's something."

I opened my mouth to speak and Carlisle cautioned me. I didn't listen to him though.

"Emmett suspects a vampire killed the first human." Her nervousness spiked. "We'll know more after he checks out the second body."

"A- a vampire," she was scared now.

"Yes. Don't worry Bella, it's most likely just a nomad passing through, Emmett will keep us updated." She was nearing feeling frightened now. "James is dead Bella, you don't have to worry about him anymore, trust me, and I'll protect you, I promise."

"Right," she tried to appear fine but I could tell she wasn't, she was as frightened as I had ever seen her.

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><p><strong>AN- **Okay, I know I didn't add 'the Major not being Bella's mate' in this chapter, but if I did the chapter would be way too long and trust me it needs to be broken up right now. It will be in the next chapter without a doubt, it's first up.

Review and tell me what you thought.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing, you guys are so awesome.

I changed my ff username by the way. I didn't want to end up confusing some of you by not telling you.

Okay, so I was supposed to mention this at the end of the last chapter, but this is the chapter that should answer the majority of your remaining questions, so enjoy.

Sorry it's shorter, but there's a reason for that, you'll see.

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><p>I was currently sitting at my desk watching Bella toss and turn. She had a bad night, her emotions were all over the place, ever since she found out about the unknown vampire. I tired talking to her about it, but she was keeping silent. She kept on lying, saying that her arm was hurting. I felt no pain from her. In the end I had to leave her be. Her emotions towards me were turning dark and I didn't need her to resent me when there was clearly trouble out there. So there she lay, sheets tangled around her body, forehead pushed against the headboard, a light sheen of sweat covering her. She was calm at the moment. Her nightmare's come and go. I hadn't manipulated her emotions yet, everyone told me to send her some calm, even Carlisle. Her screams bothered them. I kept a close eye on her emotions, she was relatively fine.<p>

"Son?" Did he have to call me that?

"Yeah, Carlisle."

He entered the room and after looking at Bella concerned he made his way over to me.

"How's she doing?" His main emotion was concerned.

"Good. It come and goes."

"Nightmares?"

"I assume. I will ask her when she awakes." I turned my attention back to my computer.

Carlisle stood there awkwardly.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. Call me if you need me."

I nodded my head and he left the room. Bella's emotions had spiked when he entered but now that he had left they were calming down again. I focused on the computer screen. I had sent an email to Jenks to see if he could dig up anything on this Victoria Burns, he wasn't happy that I woke him up, but he'd get over it. Now hours later I'd received an email back. I scanned the email and it gave me nothing. Victoria Burns, missing, suspected foul play by the amount of blood found at the scene. All in all it didn't help me one bit. Blood could mean death or that she was seriously wounded and survived. Blood factoring in that James was a vampire could mean death or that Victoria was turned. The fact that Bella hadn't mentioned Victoria or any other vampire for that matter had me concerned. I mean she was reacting just fine to an unknown vampire being around. She was kept hostage for two years by a vampire, an unknown vampire should strike fear in her, but something was telling me that there was more. The fact that Peter was coming didn't help the matter any. Why was he even coming? I picked up the phone and called him, no answer. I called Charlotte as well, also no answer. Where the hell were they?

My head shot up as Bella let out a small whimper. She was moving around again, her emotions were shifting. I anxiously looked at the clock. It pained me to see her like this. It was seven thirty, an acceptable time for her to wake up. I got up from my desk chair and walked over to her. I sat down on the other side of the bed and just observed her. She was feeling scared now and she let out another whimper. It was so hard for me. I knew that she needed to feel these things. I knew that she needed to trust me fully, to let me in, for things to get better, but until she realized that herself, well there was only so much I could do. And that is why I left her be. I sat across from her and just watched. I felt everything that she felt, and it was horrible, way worse than my time with Maria. Seeing her in pain, knowing that I couldn't help her, it was hell. Finally she let out another scream and sat bolt upright, trying to catch her breath. She was fully awake now.

She looked at me confused. Her emotions hadn't settled down yet. I sat and I waited, and waited. Finally I couldn't take it any longer and I spoke.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," her voice was low, she was lying.

I kept my face straight. There was no need to set her off, her emotions still hadn't settled down yet.

"Are you ready for breakfast?" I asked at a loss of how to proceed.

"I can get it." Her emotions still hadn't settled and it had me worried. "Excuse me."

I looked at her confused. She didn't make a move to get up. Did she want me to leave? When she didn't budge after a minute I got up and left the room.

What was going on with her? Did she have another prophetic dream?

I made it down the stairs and was immediately confronted by Rose.

"How is she?"

I automatically frowned.

"Fine, I think. Excuse me." I pushed past her and pulled out my phone. I dialed Peter's number again, straight to voicemail. I left a message this time. _Call me back Peter, this is important. _I didn't bother calling Charlotte again, they were inseparable. As soon as I put my phone in my pocket it rang. Peter's number flashed across the screen.

"You got yourself a new phone," Peter spoke.

"Alice bought it for me." I wasn't even bothered by getting a new phone. Alice just handed me one. "Peter, answer me when I call you."

"Relax. I was busy with Char." There was no doubt by his tone that I knew exactly what they had been up to.

"Okay, with that put aside why are you coming here and when?"

"Can't tell you." I could hear him smirking through the phone, cocky bastard. "We'll be there today, tomorrow, or the next day. Maybe never. Depends how this thing turns out first."

"Thing? Can you be any less helpful Peter?"

"I'm sure I could."

"Ass. I'm hanging up." I pulled the phone away from my ear.

"Wait," he yelled out.

"What?" I was getting annoyed.

"Where's Bella?"

"Having breakfast. Why?"

"Are you sure?" He was still cocky.

Was I sure? Of course I was sure. I extended my gift trying to find her emotions but I couldn't find her anywhere.

"Where the hell is she Peter?" I was angry now, better to be angry than frightened.

Where the hell was she? I could kill Peter for distracting me. It was my own fault though, I should have been paying more attention.

"She's at the Chief's house."

"How?" How could she slip out of a houseful of vampires without anyone noticing, she shielded herself I bet.

"Rose's car."

Rose's car? Shit. I hope Bella knew how to handle one as powerful as Rose's. I jumped up straight away, disconnecting the call, I couldn't waste any time. I didn't bother taking any vehicle, I knew I could catch her quicker if I ran. Why did that fucker Peter keep on talking to me if he knew that Bella had left? Stupid fucking piece of- I stopped that train of thought, it would get me nowhere. I broke free of the forest at Bella's house. I don't think I've even ran that fast before. She was just walking up the porch steps, she was safe and sound. I let out a breath. I ran up the steps and stood behind her.

"Jasper," she smirked as she turned around. "I'm impressed."

Impressed? What was going on? Something was not right.

"Bella?" I questioned her confused.

She cocked her eyebrow and stared me down, challenging me to something. I had no idea what. She sighed and gave up after a while.

"I want to talk to the Major," her voice was firm, authoritative.

The Major? Why?

"No." I stood my ground. This was something we needed to work out.

"Oh Major, come out and play." Now she was feeling playful, something was definitely off.

"Bella what's going on, are you alright?"

"You're going to make me say it aren't you?" She let out a sigh. "God of War, I know you're in there."

And that was that. The Major couldn't resist her call.

_Major's POV_

Free again. I loved that Bella allowed me out, it was fun.

"Hey." I had been standing by listening to Jasper talk. Once Bella called my name Jasper tried to hold me back, but it was always a losing battle. "Bella?" I added when she didn't speak.

"Try again," she smiled at me.

I had a theory when we were trapped and in a way I hoped that it wasn't true, but now I wasn't so sure.

"Isabella?" I tested and her smile grew so big.

"I knew you'd understand. Give me a cig."

"Your dad will kill me." How'd she know that Jasper carried cigarettes.

"No, my dad will kill Jasper."

Well that fact was true.

"Point taken." I reached into Jasper's jeans and pulled one out for her. I retrieved his lighter and lit it up for her.

"You're not having one?" She asked me confused.

"No, I don't smoke. Bad for your health, all that."

"But Jasper does."

"On occasion. I told you that he was weak. So, are you going to explain this whole thing to me Isabella."

"I think you already know."

"Fill me in." I left no room for her to argue.

"Bella got kidnapped. Bella is weak. I had to take over for her. Same for you and Jasper I believe. Maybe different though, Bella created me as an escape. Did Jasper create you?"

"Deep down yes, but I came forth because I knew he couldn't deal with it all. He never let me take over without a fight, he thinks I'm bad, but I'm just protecting him. What does Bella think about you."

"Not a whole lot. She knows that I was there to protect her against James, that's all she sees me as though, a protector from James. She thinks she locked me away when she got free, she didn't, not well enough anyway. I've always been with her, she just doesn't realize it yet."

"I guess we're similar then."

She frowned.

"You're too calculated. Too reliant on facts."

"So?" I really didn't see a problem with that.

"You are like Jasper, you don't see it."

"See what?" What the hell was she getting at.

"I don't think I should point it out. I'm sure once you get your head out of your ass you'll see it."

"Listen here," I grabbed her arm and pulled her to me roughly. "Don't talk to me like that."

"Why? Afraid of a little human girl are you?"

I growled and stared her down. Her eyes softened immediately and mine followed straightaway. I leant forward ever so slightly. Everything clicked. The affection I had felt towards Bella. Isabella's strength and defiance, she was my mate. Isabella was my mate. It made sense. Jasper had Bella and I had Isabella. I leant forward again, wanting to claim her so badly, but she pulled back with a smirk.

"Naughty, naughty," she smiled at me.

"What? Don't deny that you can't feel it as well."

"I can feel it, but unlike you I actually have some restraint."

"Restraint?" I gritted my teeth. "You're lucky I haven't turned you yet. I want to, so badly, and you wouldn't be able to stop me."

"I think I'd have a fair chance," she winked at me.

"So tell me," I took a step closer to her and our bodies instantly melded together. "Why can't I kiss you?" I leant forward again, but she moved her head.

"Because Bella and Jasper haven't shared their first kiss yet."

That's it? "Screw them."

"As much as you don't want to admit it they're the ones in charge. They're the ones that get to live each day and the rest of eternity together, not us. No, we're only allowed out when needed."

"So, we can't kiss until they do?" This was beyond ridiculous.

"Yes."

What the hell.

"So you believe we are mates then? Does that mean Bella believes that Jasper is her mate?"

"Yes she knows. She had a dream about it."

"A dream?"

"Yeah. She believes them to be true, I'm not so sure."

"So what did she dream about?"

"Her wedding day, to Jasper." Seriously. "Everyone was there, even Peter and Charlotte."

Peter and Charlotte?

"When did this dream take place?"

"I'm not sure, sometime in the future. Bella was a vampire so it'd be hard to guess her age, Charlie's hair was going grey though, so a few years at least."

"Good." That meant there wasn't going to be a surprise wedding in a few days when Peter and Charlotte showed up.

"Oh Charlie," she shook her head and smiled.

"What?" I asked her confused. Bella blushed at the mention of Charlie if I remember correctly from when she told Jasper about the dream. "What's the deal with Charlie?"

"Nothing for you to worry about." She stubbed out her cigarette and threw it behind a bush.

"So, is there a particular reason you decided to come forth today Isabella? A reason why you left the house all alone?"

"Of course." She didn't continue.

"And that was?" I prompted her.

"The vampire feeding around here, Victoria, they're the same person, well vampire."

"How do you know this?" So Victoria was in on all this.

"Because she's out to get Bella."

"You can't be sure of that."

"What would you do if Edward killed me, huh, don't tell me you wouldn't hunt him down and make him pay."

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"Victoria was James' mate and furthermore she absolutely hated Bella. Bella still cannot face one of the encounters she had with Victoria and I don't blame her. She's a vile vampire, she'll stop at nothing to get revenge, even though it wasn't Bella's fault, she doesn't care. She has an ability, she's hard to catch."

"I can catch her," I replied confidentially.

"I have no doubt. This is why I'm telling you. She needs to be stopped before she can get to Bella."

"What do you know about her?"

"Not a lot. Only saw her a few times. She's malicious, completely loyal to James, hates humans with a passion."

"Do you think she's working alone?"

"Yes. I knew of no others except James and Victoria. She doesn't know Bella is friends with a whole clan of vampires, not yet, she'll figure it out soon enough though, and when she does she'll most likely make reinforcements. We need to stop her before it gets that far."

"I agree." Isabella was exactly like me, very tactical, and now I felt like kissing her again.

I took a step forward, she could deny me time after time but it would never stop me from trying.

"Jasper!" I heard Chief Swan yell from behind me.

I spun around and everything happened so fast. Firstly I noticed his anger and the shotgun in his hands. Next I felt his determination and saw the gun flare. Next thing I know I'm standing in front of Isabella, protecting her, as I get hit in the chest with the buck shot. I don't falter. The shot didn't even pierce my skin, but I am pissed. Who is he to do this to me? What did I ever do to him? I saw red, only red. There was no coming back for this, he was going to pay. I made it down the steps in one swift step and was on him instantly. I grabbed him by the throat and pushed him up against the side of the house. I pressed my forearm into his neck, cutting off his air supply. How dare he do this to me, to Jasper. No more, I was going to kill him. I pressed harder and I heard something crack, good. He was lucky I was granting him a quick death. One more push of my arm and I'd never have to worry about him again.

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><p><strong>AN- **It's a cliffhanger, a nice one to if I do say so myself. Poor Charlie. To kill Charlie or not to kill Charlie... that is the question, hahahaha, only I know the answer to that one. Review and I'll update sooner rather than later.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N-**Thanks for reviewing, seriously, much appreciated.

I was going to end this story at a certain point but I think I'll extend it to after Bella becomes a vampire, we'll see though.

Sorry for the long wait. I spent most of the time sick.

Enjoy.

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><p><em>Major's POV<em>

_"Jasper!" I heard Chief Swan yell from behind me._

_I spun around and everything happened so fast. Firstly I noticed his anger and the shotgun in his hands. Next I felt his determination and saw the gun flare. Next thing I know I'm standing in front of Isabella, protecting her, as I get hit in the chest with the buck shot. I don't falter. The shot didn't even pierce my skin, but I am pissed. Who is he to do this to me? What did I ever do to him? I saw red, only red. There was no coming back for this, he was going to pay. I made it down the steps in one swift step and was on him instantly. I grabbed him by the throat and pushed him up against the side of the house. I pressed my forearm into his neck, cutting off his air supply. How dare he do this to me, to Jasper. No more, I was going to kill him. I pressed harder and I heard something crack, good. He was lucky I was granting him a quick death. One more push of my arm and I'd never have to worry about him again._

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><p><em>Isabella's POV<em>

"Stop it!" I yelled and I could see the Major's face twist into a malicious grin. He wasn't going to let Bella's father go, not without a fight. "Now!" I commanded him, leaving absolutely no room to argue. The Major's face softened before becoming confused, then bewildered. His eyes left Charlie's rapidly draining body and he whipped his head to me. "Now!" I repeated again. A stroke of annoyance crossed his face before he dropped Charlie and took a step back. Charlie hit the ground hard. I was down the steps in an instance, pulling Charlie's near lifeless body into my lap. I looked up and was met with the Major's murderous gaze. "Move! Over there!" I pointed to the tree line. "Go! Now!"

He hissed, but backed away slowly. I didn't take my gaze off him until he reached the trees and began pacing. Good. I turned my attention back to Charlie. He was still breathing. I leant forward and pressed my ear to his chest, his lungs sounded clear. This was also good news. I was thinking of my plan of action when the Major was suddenly joined by two vampires. Peter and Charlotte no doubt.

"Charlotte. Here now!" I called out to her. I could see her talking with the Major. "Bring Jasper's phone. Now!"

She wasted no time grabbing the phone off the Major and made her way over to me slowly, head angled down. Good. As soon as she reached her arm towards me I snatched the phone off her and dialed the number Charlie had told Bella to call whenever she had a problem. As it rung I stared at Charlotte, she took the hint and took a couple of steps backwards. Good.

"Hello," A female's voice answered. I didn't care who it was.

"Charlie's been hurt. Come to his house and pick him up. It's not safe for him here." I looked up and glared at the Major. The person on the other end of the line was about to speak but I cut her off. "I will send Carlisle to the reservation, let him in, Charlie needs medical attention."

I hung up the phone before dialing Carlisle's number.

"Jasper?" Came his question.

"No."

"Bella? Are you alright?"

"Bella's fine."

"What?"

"Listen." I left no room for arguments. "Charlie's been hurt. I need you to head out to the reservation and take a look at him."

"What happened? Why the reservation?"

"Just listen. The Major attacked him, not completely unprovoked, but still. He's fine. Broken collarbone, however he's still unconscious. Peter and Charlotte are here also. I will send them to your house as soon as Charlie's safely on his way to the reservation. And then I will deal with the Major."

"Bella you don't have to-"

"Stop! I can handle this."

"But we're not allowed on the reservation."

"Relax, I took care of it."

I hung up the phone. I looked up and saw Jacob Black and Sue Clearwater approaching. I took a deep breath and stood up. Jacob only knew the sweet Bella, so I immediately softened my features.

"Take your mate to the Cullen house. We'll meet you there shortly." I told Charlotte. She nodded her head once before darting off and taking Peter with her.

I met eyes with the Major and he was still pissed, however I could clearly see the lust in his eyes.

"Bella?" Jacob came over to me.

"Jake, it's Charlie," I hated appearing like a weak little girl. "Please just take him to the reservation, he'll be safe there. Doctor Cullen will meet you there, make sure that Sam let's him cross, Charlie needs his help."

"Okay, but what about you Bella?" Jacob, ever concerned. Poor boy.

"I'm fine," I even managed a smile for him. "Just take him, quickly."

I watched as Jacob picked up Bella's still unconscious father and loaded him into the back of Sue's jeep. He'd be safe on the reservation. The werewolves would protect him. We needed to deal with Victoria and fast. I saw him hesitate at the door, I smiled again and waved him on. He got into the car and sped off. I got up from the ground and brushed myself off.

"Do you want to tell me what the hell that was exactly," I spoke to the Major. He didn't dare approach me. Smart. But I wanted him here. "Here! Now!" I pointed to the spot in front of me and he was there instantly.

"He shot me." I could still see the lust in his eyes.

"You're a vampire. There was no damage."

"Yes, there was."

"To what, your fucking pride. Calm the fuck down next time. Bella's going to have your ass for this."

"You expected me to do nothing, to not react."

"It's your own fucking fault."

"How? How the fuck is getting shot my own fault. He could have killed you. I wasn't going to let him kill my mate."

"Are you really this stupid? It may not be your fault. Jasper is the one that went around telling Charlie all this inhuman stuff about himself and then he mysteriously doesn't have a broken leg anymore. What's Charlie to think, huh? That you're a fucking angel. He's not stupid. He knows what you are. He figured it out."

"Then why shoot me? Plus if he knew then why did he allow me to be with you?"

"Because he wanted to be sure, and you've given him no reason not to trust you. He was giving you the benefit of the doubt and you almost killed him."

"Yes and I would have succeeded if you hadn't of stopped me."

"Are you thinking of Bella at all? It's her father. You're her mate."

"No, she's Jasper's mate. You're my mate."

"Are you feeling any remorse?" I all but growled at him. "Do you even care if he survives or not?"

"No, I don't. He's human. Human's die all the time."

"You know what? Go away! I don't care where you go I just want you to go." He stood his ground. "Now! And don't come back until you're at least a little bit sorry for what you did." He huffed and stared at me, challenging me. "Now!" I repeated as I extended my shield and hurled him into the forest. I heard him crash through the trees and growl in frustration, before I got back into Rose's car and headed back to the Cullen's. I had to deal with Peter and Charlotte next.

I made it to the Cullen's. Disobeying every road rule there was. I slammed through the door and all eyes were on me. Peter and Charlotte came over to me first, heads cast downwards. They immediately kneeled on one knee in front of me.

"Speak!"

"The Major said you're in charge." Peter spoke calmly. "He said we are to do as you command."

"Good. Good. Run a perimeter around the Cullen house and around the Swan residence. I want to know where this rogue vampire has been. If you catch sight of them then give chase, but do not risk your life on this cause. Not yet anyway. Understand?"

"Understand," they both replied but they never moved.

"Fall out."

As soon as they left Esme was on me. She placed a hand on my shoulder and I shook her off. Now was not the time.

"How's Charlie?" Esme's hurt voice reached me.

"Where's Jasper?" Alice asked.

All irrelevant questions.

"I speak, you listen." I saw the others cower away slightly. Esme, Alice, and Rose were currently in front of me, I couldn't sense anyone else in the house. "Has Emmett checked back in? What's the deal with the second body?"

Rose stepped forward. She didn't appear to fear me.

"Yes. It was the same vampire who killed the first hiker."

Right. I wanted nothing more than to be out there looking for her, Victoria, no doubt it was her, but I knew the Cullen's would never allow it. I needed to talk to Carlisle about something.

"Call Carlisle," I directed Esme. "Let him know that as soon as he's done with helping Charlie, the second he is done, that he is to come back here. I need to speak with him."

Esme didn't respond, but with a small nod of her head she hurried out of the room.

"Psychic," I addressed Alice. "Any signs of the future?"

She closed her eyes. Hurry the fuck up.

"Nothing of significance," she trembled under my gaze. "I think- I."

"Spit it out!"

"I think you're blocking my power."

Right Bella's mind shield. I immediately lifted it and Alice had a vision straightaway. I waited impatiently for her to finish.

"A red headed vampire," she finally spoke. "I can only see glimpses." This wasn't helpful. Her posture changed, she became scared again. "Edward! No!" She screamed out, voice filled with pain, before collapsing to the floor. This wasn't useful to me. I didn't care what happened to Edward.

"Isabella," I heard his voice before he came into the Cullen house.

"Are you sorry yet?" I turned to face him.

"Come on Isabella, you know me, I'm the Major, God of War, I'm not sorry for anything."

He was smirking. Cocky bastard. I didn't hesitate as I extended my shield again and pushed him through the wall and back into the driveway.

"I warned you," I stepped outside to face him again. "I warned you and you come back here, with what, nothing. A fucking smirk."

"Come on Isabella, you know I'm not capable of such things."

"You love Jasper. You said I'm your mate. Charlie is my father too, technically. Show some remorse." I could see he wasn't giving in. I approached him and placed my shield over him. "Show some remorse, something, or I'll rip your dick off and you'll never get it back."

"You can't rip it off me. You're human, don't forget that."

"Oh, I won't forget it. I'm sure Peter will happily do the task for me." His face immediately paled. Good. I was finally getting through to him. "Now you can either act like the insensitive jackass you're currently being or you can grow some fucking balls and stand by my side. We need to track down Victoria before she does something stupid." He didn't make a move to get up. "Well? Make your decision."

"Fine." He stood up. "With you, my love. Always."

"Save it." I pulled back the shield.

"Isabella." I turned around and Peter and Charlotte were back. Heads already dropped.

"Speak." The corners of my mouth lifted slightly when the Major joined my side and held my hand within his own. Good. Hopefully he was with me now.

"We ran a perimeter like you asked and caught sight of an unknown vampire. We gave chase but they were quick. It was like they were there one second and gone the next. An ability perhaps."

"Yes." Charlotte agreed. "Her bright red hair was an easy tracker, but she's got something else on her side, she must."

"Does she know you were after her?"

"Yes."

Great. This may be enough to tip her over the edge. For her to start planning an attack, an attack that will end in her favor. It was exactly what we didn't need. She'd have the surprise attack and we'd have nothing.

"Peter, Alice," Alice came outside. "Work together. Look into the future. Go read the local newspapers. I don't care. All I want is for you to find out what she's planning and when it's coming. We need a head's up."

"Rosalie. Find Edward and bring him back here. Victoria doesn't know that we have a mind reader and two physics. We can use this to our advantage." She took off. I turned to my mate. Oh god there was nothing more I wanted right now then to kiss him. He liked seeing me in charge it seemed. The lust was pouring off him. But I would not ruin Bella and Jasper's first kiss, never. "Run a perimeter. Follow Peter's scent. See if you can pick up anything that he missed. Just make sure she's gone." I leant forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Be safe. Watch your back. Don't be a hero."

"As you wish," his smirk was back. He lifted our joint hands and placed a kiss on the back of my hand before running off.

"Isabella?" Charlotte questioned head still bowed. "What can I do?"

"Stay here. I need you and Esme here incase Bella resurfaces. The matter I have to discuss with Carlisle is sensitive and if Bella comes back then she will need you both."

I walked back into the house and went up to Carlisle's study to wait for him. I never wanted to relieve the event I was about to tell Carlisle but it was necessary. He would know more about what happened to Bella after she escaped the second time, he just had to. Nothing was ever the same after that incident. I tried to keep Bella protected from it but she knows what happened deep down, and it was not pretty. It made me shiver with fear and I was Isabella, I was the strong one in this body. I was exactly like the Major, but it always chilled me to core. It was unpleasant and I wished for death over and over again. It never came.

I don't know how long I sat there before Carlisle joined me.

"Bella."

"Isabella," I corrected him and he frowned.

"Okay," he accepted.

"How's Charlie?" I just needed to know, for Bella, she could not lose her father as well, it would kill her.

"Lucky," Carlisle answered gravely. "A broken collarbone seems to be the worst of it, but he's going to have trouble breathing and eating for a week or maybe even two. As I said he's very lucky." He was going to be okay, that was good. I don't know what I would have done to the Major if he wasn't going to be okay. I needed to get back on task. "You wanted to talk to me," Carlisle prompted.

Yes. Good. I guess I'll just come out and say it.

"What happens when a human ingests vampire venom?" I was stoic on the outside but I was shaking with fear on the inside. The memories replaying like a movie in my head.

"James?" Carlisle questioned confused.

"Victoria," I answered, hissing out her name. He was still confused. May as well tell it from the beginning. "Bella escaped once, James wasn't there, Victoria was. She's James' mate, she hated Bella with a passion. Hated that she was taking up James' time. Hated that James appeared to care for her more than his own mate. Many things. She couldn't understand why James kept Bella alive, it just didn't make any sense. Victoria caught her. James was nowhere to be seen. Victoria told her that he was away on an extended hunting trip. She just beat her at first. Only bruises, she never allowed Bella to bleed in front of her. She knew if she slipped up and killed Bella that James would never forgive her. She got bored, quickly. The following day she sliced her arm open with her fingernail and venom began dripping out. She held her arm up to Bella's mouth and forced her to drink it." I visibly shuddered at the thought of the thick venom running down my throat, the slight burn it gave off. "I don't know how much she gave her. It went on for days. James finally returned and she stopped, it never happened again, but Bella was never the same after."

"Oh," Carlisle was shocked. I couldn't meet his eyes. "What changed?"

"Bella was sick for weeks, James could never work out why, but it passed eventually. After that I noticed Bella's shield. I knew she was guarded beforehand but now it seemed to grow in strength. I have no doubt that the reason Bella's shield is already so powerful, with her still being a human, is because of that vampire venom."

"It's definitely interesting. I've never heard of a human ingesting vampire venom before. I'll have to talk to some people to-"

I tuned him out the images of Victoria force feeding Bella her venom were in the forefront of my mind. The way Bella coughed it up. Victoria's devilish smile, her laugh. It was not a thing I wished to relive. I could feel Bella within me, surging forward. Surely if I let her take back over she wouldn't remember what I was currently thinking about. Surely I'd take these thoughts with me back into the depths of her mind. I knew that I had to try. I could not keep face in front of Carlisle much longer. I allowed her to come back.

_Bella's POV _

"Ow," I grabbed my head, it was aching.

Where was I? Last thing I remember is going to sleep in Jasper's bed and then... something. There was something I was forgetting, what was it? Something important, something big. Carlisle was talking, I focused on him.

"Someone should know something, so don't worry we'll figure this out."

"Figure what out?" I asked him confused. What the hell was going on? Where was Jasper?

"The vampire venom you ingested," came his answer.

Vampire venom? He knew? I told him? But how, I don't remember. He knows. Oh god he knows what that bitch did to me. What does he think of me now? Now that he knows I drank vampire venom? He probably thinks-

"Isabella?" He questioned me.

Isabella? What? It can't be. Isabella was made up. I made her up and I locked her away. She wasn't real. She couldn't be real.

"Bella," I corrected and Carlisle frowned.

I was immediately surrounded. I looked to my left, Esme. I looked to my right, an unknown vampire, red eyes, blonde hair, Charlotte. What the hell was going on?

I asked the only question that mattered.

"Where's Jasper?"

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><p><strong>AN- **There you go a little bit of Bella's POV well mainly Isabella, but still. I don't know if I'll stick with Bella or go back to Jasper, I'll decide when I write the next chapter.

Review and tell me what you thought.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N- **This story has been nominated for a Sunflower award for best Charlie, so if you like Charlie in this story and you wish to vote then head over to thesunflowerawards. blogspot. com. au (remove the spaces) and vote for Light within the Darkness, turns out there's only two days left to vote so if you want to vote you better go vote straightaway. Thank you.

A couple of you were still a little confused as to exactly why Charlie shot Jasper/the Major so we're going to start this chapter off with a little look into Charlie's mind and see what he's thinking right about now.

Enjoy.

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><p><em>Charlie's POV<em>

Ah, what the hell. Why did my throat feel as though it was on fire. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. Why was it so sore?

"Ssshhh!" Sue appeared above me. I was lying down. "Doctor Cullen said it might be a while before you can talk, plus he wants you not to talk even if you can." Not talk? Seriously? "Yes. Just for a couple of days Charlie, it's just a precaution." A precaution, fine. A small smile came across my face, how could it not, Sue always made me feel better. "Good boy," she returned my smile before leaning down and placing a chaste kiss on my lips. I loved her so much. "Get some rest okay." I was about to protest. "Ssshhh! Doctor's orders."

Damn Carlisle, I thought as Sue left the room.

Vampires. It was still hard to process. I knew there was something up with that family, all adopted yet they all looked the same, but vampires? I wasn't overly worried, Jasper had never hurt me or Bella, but I just needed to know for sure. I cut his arm with a knife at Bella's party and he didn't even flinch, I realized then that he was indestructible. I spent the whole night thinking about it, trying to work out what he was. I remembered Sue's stories about the cold ones. She told me the stories to keep my mind off Bella's disappearance, I didn't take much note of them, I thought they were just stories, until Jasper came along. Jasper, way too mature for his age. There was nothing normal about that boy, absolutely nothing.

In the beginning I was grateful for him. He allowed me to talk about Bella and he actually listened and offered advice, he helped me lessen the burden, to be a better father to Bella. Plus he pulled that emotion mojo stuff on me, no doubt. I didn't know what it was in the beginning but after he told me all about his ability, well I started noticing things. A wave of calm, which I pushed away, but it was the small piece of hope that I could feel with me always now. He did that to me, it had to be him. I feel sad, I feel hope. I feel angry, I feel hope. I feel despair, I feel hope. I know Jasper did this to me, but I was thankful that he did. It kept me grounded. It was a constant reminder that I had to be strong for not only myself but for Bella as well. He was a very smart boy, er, vampire, still weird.

So why shoot him? I needed to be absolutely sure. I trusted him with Bella, just. Only because he hadn't given me a reason not to. He had been there for Bella right from the start. I know he painted that mural that reminds her of home. I walk past her door on the way to the bathroom and see her staring at it sometimes, a smile threatening to break free, but it never did. He also protected her in the mudslide. My baby girl was trapped, underground, on her birthday of all days. I hated that she had to go through another traumatic experience so soon, but Jasper helped her through. I expected Bella to be setback, because being trapped again must have been so hard on her, but she was fine, I noticed no difference. Jasper must have kept her safe, made her feel secure. He was too charismatic that boy. If his intentions were bad I wouldn't be able to stop him from dragging both me and Bella down, but I knew he was good. I saw a vulnerability in him. He was a lost boy even if he didn't want to admit it.

So I had to shoot him, I had to. I needed him to know that I knew without having to tell him, that I knew he was different. As soon as he turned around I knew something was off, it wasn't Jasper, I could tell straightaway. His whole demeanor was different. He stood straighter, his face was hardened, and his eyes were dark, too dark. If I had shot Jasper he would have noticed it was me straightaway and it would have been fine, but I didn't shoot Jasper, I shot someone else. He didn't care who I was. I was lucky to be alive and I knew this. I didn't care though. I didn't care that Jasper's dark side had attacked me, he wasn't Jasper. This was not my first witness at someone's dark side, no, Bella has a dark side, Isabella.

I met Isabella once. At first it shocked me. I looked at her and finally saw just how broken she was, she was broken in half. Two sides, Bella and Isabella. Same as Jasper it now seemed. I liked that, hopefully they'd help each other become one whole person again. I came home one day and there she stood, arms folded across her chest, whole new presence, confidence. This was not my baby girl, this girl was strong and she only had Bella's best interests at heart. Isabella put me in line, she gave me strict instructions about taking Bella back to Seattle, to show her a good time. Even told me where to take her. She went back upstairs and I was left dumbfounded. I didn't know what the hell just happened. An hour later Bella came back down and made dinner, I never questioned her.

Now here I was. I knew Isabella was out once again. I heard her command Jasper's dark side to let me go and he obviously did because here I was, home. Home had become wherever Sue was. Sue lost her husband Harry the same month I lost Renée and found out that Bella was missing. Every time I came back to Forks I came out to the reservation and we held each other together, gave each other hope. We became friends and then it slowly progressed. I spent more time at her house then at my own. Even though Bella hadn't lived with me since she was a little girl, the house reminded me of her and my first wife and I couldn't deal with that, so Sue let me stay with her. I finally asked her out my last trip home and she accepted. I loved her, she always believed in me, believed that I would find Bella and bring her home safely.

I hadn't spent much time with Sue since Bella returned home, but she understands. She knew that I had to be with Bella and our love only grew stronger. I wanted to tell Bella so much, I wanted her to know that I had finally found love again, but I couldn't. I just couldn't. Bella just found out her mother died, my first wife, I couldn't let her know that I had moved on. I didn't know how she would react so I was going to wait until it was a better time. Sue had her own problems to deal with anyway, shape shifters, yes shape shifters, or wolves really. Jacob had just made the change a couple of weeks back and now Sue was afraid that her son Seth may be next. He was young and she was worried for him. I was too. I looked at Leah and Seth like my own and they seemed to like me as well. It was great hanging around them when Bella was missing, it kept my heart soft, they were great kids. Plus Leah had a messy breakup with Sam last year and she needed all the support she could get.

"Charlie." I looked over to the door and saw a frowning Sue. "Get some rest." I could never deny her, so I nodded my head and closed my eyes.

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><p><em>Major's POV<em>

It wasn't hard to find the Captain's trail and to follow it. I could smell the other vampire, female by the smell of it. Male and female vampires had a slightly different scent but you had to know what to look out for. I was nearing Port Angeles when I fell to my knees. I was hit with a strong dose of despair. _Isabella._ I wasted no time in picking myself up and racing back towards Forks, to my mate. It became harder as I got closer and closer. Isabella's despair kept on hitting me in waves but I strove forward. Nothing would stop me from getting to my mate, making sure she was alright.

I made it to the Cullen house and burst through Carlisle's study in an instance. My cold dead heart stuttered at what I saw. Isabella, my Isabella, was on the floor in a fetal position, her physical shield surrounding her. "What happened?" I growled as I reach out to touch her. My hand hit her physical shield and went no further, she was blocking me. "Speak!"

I turned my attention to the others. Carlisle was in the corner, his mate Esme safely behind him, they would be of no use, I could feel their fear. I turned my attention to the only other person present, Charlotte. She had her head tilted down. I wasted no time in going over to her and grabbing her by the throat and pushing her up against the wall. My mate was hurting physically and no one was speaking. I think I left mad at the door, I was beyond furious now and they better stay out of my way.

"I don't know what happened," Charlotte's weak voice reached my ears. "She wants Jasper." Jasper? "It's Bella," she explained further.

Isabella was gone, what a pity, I was enjoying her so much. She put me in my place, she was the only one I'd ever answer to. She was strong and fierce. She was my mate. Bella wasn't, no, she was Jasper's. Jasper. I had to let him come back. Bella was still hurting, still in a fetal position on the floor, she needed him. I let Charlotte go and she dropped to her knees submissively. I took a couple of steps back and centered myself. _She needs Jasper. It's what's best for her_. As much as I didn't want to go- they needed me here, especially with a rogue vampire on the loose- but she needed Jasper more, so she would get Jasper. I closed my eyes and retreated.

_Jasper's POV_

I was waiting by. Watching the Major struggle. As soon as he retreated I pushed forward and I knelt down straight away. I reached out for Bella, trying desperately to ignore the massive amount of despair coming from her. I saw that her shield was up but I didn't care. I reached forward and my hands just melted through it. I picked her up straightaway and her shield subconsciously went around me too. I carried her to my room and set her on the bed. I leant back to take off her shoes but she gripped my shirt within her good hand and wouldn't let me leave. I took the hint and laid down with her.

"Bella? Bella?" I spoke softly. She wouldn't open her eyes and her emotions still weren't letting up.

I tested her emotions more closely and I could feel that she was in some physical pain, from her broken arm I guessed. I didn't hesitate as I pulled the pain from her, she didn't need to deal with that on top of everything else. If I had to guess I would say that she was having a breakdown. In some ways it was overdue, but I had thought she was getting better, making solid progress, something must have set her back.

"Bella love?" She didn't move. "Hey, look at me beautiful."

Somehow I just knew that if I could look at her, if I could see her eyes, then she'd be alright, we'd be alright. She finally looked up and met my eyes. I was shocked, her eyes were filled with so much pain it hurt me, physically hurt me. The pull in my chest was becoming unbearable even though she was right here in my arms. Something shifted in her and I could feel a burst of disgust. Why was she feeling disgust? And what exactly did she tell Carlisle? It must have been what set her off. Something so bad that she had broken down, but what? I needed to know.

"Bella?" She was still looking at me and the pain in her eyes was threatening to spill over. Poor girl. Another stab of pain in my chest. "Hey, you've gotta tell me what's wrong?" Her face paled even further if possible and her eyes went wide. "Please beautiful I need to know. I can't fix it if I don't know."

"You can't fix it," her voice was quiet and raspy.

"Just please Bella, tell me and I can at least share your burden. I don't want you to suffer alone, I hate seeing you like this. Please, it's tearing me up inside."

"I-" She cleared her throat. "Vic-toria," she faltered, closing her eyes briefly before re-opening them. They were wet now, but no tears had fallen over. "She made me, forced me to- to drink her venom."

Drink her venom? What? I needed to catch that bitch right now and rip her fucking head off. My attention shifted when Bella let out a couple of small hiccup like coughs before the dam wall broke and her tears began flowing freely, and once again the wall holding back her emotions broke as well. I was immediately hit by what felt like a freight train, or at least that's what I imagined it to be. I held face but it was extremely difficult. Bella's eyes finally closed as another stronger round of sobs overtook her and I didn't hesitate to pull her head towards me, effectively burying her face in my chest so that I could close my eyes as well. It was just like last time, her emotions were too much for me, way too much to handle. There is nothing more I wanted right now than to scream out loud, to try and get some of these emotions out, but I knew that I couldn't. I needed to stay strong for Bella. I knew she didn't need to be dealing with my sorry ass right now.

So I stayed stock still, never moving. I even shut off my mind, I didn't need to think right now, no. I don't know how much time passed but Bella wasn't letting up and I couldn't hold it in anymore. A scream escaped accidentally but I clamped down on it straightaway so it came out as more of a strangled cry. She stiffened in my arms before she pulled back. I opened my eyes and I had no doubt that I was reflecting just as much pain as her. She must have realized because as soon as she saw my eyes it was all gone, everything. I don't know if she just stopped feeling those emotions or if she just blocked me, either way I felt as if I could breathe again. I took an unnecessary breath and placed my palm on her cheek.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked out.

"Never apologize, never," I told her as I shifted close so that our noses were now touching and I could see into her eyes clearly. "I told you I would share your burden and that includes your pain. I will never let you suffer alone Bella, never, believe me."

"I don't want you to feel what I feel. I don't want anyone to feel what I feel."

Oh Bella? Poor girl was so damaged. I had lost sight of that lately due to the fact that she was talking more and seemed to be better all around, but maybe she wasn't better at all, maybe she had just becoming better at hiding it. I leant forward and kissed her, just lightly, barely a touch. I didn't care if she wasn't ready, I needed to do it for both her and me. I needed her to know that I was here and nothing would change that and I needed, well I just needed to kiss her.

"I love you, I do," I projected a small amount of the love I felt constantly for her. Not the whole lot, she wouldn't be able to handle everything that I felt. "Every day, for eternity, I'll be right here," I placed my hand in the center of her chest. "Whatever happens, whatever comes at us we will face it, together, always. I promise, but for now we need to sleep. I don't know about you, but those emotions aren't... healthy, we need to sleep and regroup our emotions, okay?"

She nodded her head weakly and scooted down to rest her head on my chest. I immediately wrapped my arms around her. I knew we couldn't just stop dealing with the Victoria situation but we had to, Bella's mental health was more important to me. I needed her to be better and I needed to get my shit back in order too. We have a long battle ahead of us and Bella would be of great use. I don't know how Isabella knew all those tactical things. She was like the Major, yet I knew that Bella hadn't served in any wars. It was impressive but I wondered exactly how she learnt it, unfortunately now was not the time to ask. I waited until her breathing evened out before I sent myself a sleep cocktail. Her shield was still around us and hopefully the others would have some solid answers on the Victoria situation when we woke up.

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><p><strong>AN- **You know the drill, review with your thoughts.


	26. Chapter 26

_Jasper's POV_

I stretched and cracked my neck. It had been a good night sleep after an emotionally draining night. I opened my eyes and expected to find Bella still asleep, I usually woke up before her, but I was happy to find that she was already awake.

"You're beautiful when you're asleep," she whispered before blushing.

"Thank you." I didn't want to disturb the bubble we were in but everyone was waiting downstairs, impatiently. "Bella we have to go downstairs, we need to find out what's going on and work up a plan to deal with Victoria."

She appeared to sober up and her small smile disappeared.

"Okay, can I have a human moment first, like last time, but you don't have to drug yourself up this time."

"Sure thing."

We got out of bed and Bella gathered her stuff. Her shield had been in place since yesterday and she appeared to have no trouble at all with keeping me shielded with her. I stood outside the bathroom door whilst Bella took a shower and got ready. Once she was done we went back into my room so that I could change. I grabbed my old well worn jeans and just threw on Bella's green hooded sweatshirt as she was not wearing it, instead she was wearing her new leather jacket she got from Charlie on her birthday.

We made it down the stairs and Bella immediately tensed at all the vampires present. I sat down on the couch in the middle of it all and pulled Bella onto my lap. Her shield was still up and I kept my focus on her. We would sit here as long as it took Bella to get accustomed to everyone here. I could see her head move slightly as she took note of everyone in the room. Her emotions were faint and I could tell that she was shielding them from me once again. I'd let it slide for now, we needed progress on the Victoria front so I'd just have to deal with it later.

"There's a lot of vampires," Bella whispered and I could feel a small amount of alarm come from her.

She was right, there was eight in total, nine if you counted me. All placed around the room haphazardly. Peter and Charlotte by the front door. Edward back against the hallway wall. Emmett a few feet from us on the arm chair, Rose perched by his side to separate him from Bella. Carlisle and Esme sitting on the couch opposite us, and Alice was sitting on the bottom step of the stairs.

"Take all the time you need," I told her. She nodded her head and her stomach let out a small growl. "Hungry?"

"Yes," she answered quietly, head down.

"What do you want? Name it and I'll get someone to get it for you."

Her brow furrowed as she thought of what to eat and I found the action so cute. I leant forward and kissed her between her eyebrows, right where the skin scrunched up, before leaning back.

"Pancakes?" She answered shyly and it came out as more of a question.

"Whatever you want," I reassured her. A small smile graced her face as she pulled her shield back. Now who do I send to get Bella's pancakes? Who didn't have any information to add? Who wouldn't mind leaving whilst we discussed everything?

"Charlotte," Bella spoke carefully, quietly.

"She can't, red eyes," I told Bella and she gave off a wave of confusion.

"She can wear sunglasses," she replied in a 'duh' tone. Well she had me there. Sunglasses would hide her eyes perfectly and humans wore sunglasses inside at times.

"What do you need?" Charlotte stepped forward carefully.

"Pancakes," I answered for Bella.

"Blueberry," Bella added before burying her head into my chest.

"My sunglasses are in the glove box of Emmett's jeep," I told her. She nodded in response before taking off. Bella's shield covered us once again. "What?" I asked her confused. "Not ready yet?"

"No, not yet." I sat in silence and let her gather herself. She got a strong flash of concern. I waited for her to speak. "Can we see Charlie today? I want to check on him, make sure he's alright."

"Of course." I was afraid of what Charlie would say to me, but I wanted to have a chance to apologize to him and see if he really was okay. "I'll hunt on the way over there if you don't mind coming with me again."

"That's fine." We lapsed into silence again. I could tell the others were getting restless but I knew we must wait for Bella to be ready. Her emotional state was the priority here especially after her breakdown last night. "Alice," she spoke quietly and I noticed that she was looking at Alice sitting at the bottom of the stairs.

I tore my gaze from Bella and let it fall on Alice, something was definitely wrong. Alice's face for starters. Alice always had a smile on her face, always, but right now, well she looked so sad. What had happened? Had she had a vision? I needed to find out and soon. "Drop your shield," I told Bella so I could get a read off Alice. Bella dropped her shield and I shifted through all the emotions in the room to get to Alice's. They finally reached me and they were not good. She was miserable, confused, really confused, she was also feeling denial. I'd have to speak to her as soon as possible.

"Is she okay?" Bella had us shielded again.

"I don't think so, something's not right." Bella began emitting a sadness. It seemed that her feelings towards Alice had changed recently. "I'll have a talk with her as soon as we're done here. I don't mean to rush you, but are you ready yet?" She didn't speak. "I'll be here the whole time, if it gets to be too much then just shield us, okay, we'll deal with what comes at us together."

I felt a wave of nervousness come from Bella but she dropped her shield anyway and gave me a nod. Good we were on our way.

"Peter, what did you find out?"

He stepped forward and spoke. "Alice and I went as far as Seattle, there are signs that Victoria might be making an army. A lot of missing persons in the newspapers. Random animal attack victims near the docks."

"Any idea how many?" I kept a close eye on Bella's emotions, she was doing okay, for the moment.

"A dozen, at least. My ability is warning me of three who are not newborns. Victoria, of course. A black vampire with dreadlocks, and a younger vampire, only just over a year old. It seems Victoria changed him when Bella was still with James, like she was planning something before James had even died."

Well that was strange, but it did make sense. Victoria hated that James had Bella so of course she would want to do something to split them up so that she could have James back to herself, but now that James was dead, well it was less than ideal. Victoria would stop at nothing until she avenged James' death.

"Do we have any idea when?"

"No." Well that was unfortunate. If we only knew when? Maybe we could bring the fight to her instead, definitely something to consider. "But as soon as I know, you'll know."

"Emmett, what are the police doing?" I asked him and he stepped forward.

"Nothing at the moment. With Charlie out indefinitely the animal attacks have been put on the back burner, they don't think the deaths are suspicious, only Chief Swan thought they were."

Good, good. We didn't need the police getting in the way of any rogue vampires that might be in the area.

"How have the patrols been going?" My question was rewarded with blank stares. Hadn't anyone been patrolling over night?

"Charlotte and I mapped out a path and patrolled every half hour," Peter spoke. I was glad to have him here. "Nothing was out of place, no vampires have been in the area since yesterday."

"Anyone got anything else to add before we work out a plan for the meantime?" Carlisle stepped forward.

"I have some news about Bella-" Carlisle's voice was grave and I cut him off immediately.

"Stop. Step forward." Carlisle stepped forward slowly.

"Shield us," I whispered to Bella and she immediately shielded me. "How are you doing?" I asked her seriously, her emotions seemed fine but I knew she didn't like to burden me.

"Okay," she answered.

"It sounds like Carlisle has some news about you ingesting the venom." Bella's breath caught in the back of her throat and she immediately stiffened. Hadn't she been paying attention to the conversation going on? "Are you willing to hear what he has to say." She paused but nodded her head slowly. "Try shielding him, that way we can keep this conversation private."

I could feel Bella's determination as she attempted to extend her shield. I touched her forearm and sent her some of my faith in her. She took in on board and everyone watch on amazed as she slowly inched her shield forward to cover Carlisle as well. Carlisle stood there dumbfounded for awhile as he examined the shield and attempted to reach past it. Bella allowed him to reach his arm through before he drew it back.

"Carlisle," I prompted and he snapped out of it. Turning to face us once again.

"I haven't finished researching but I did find out one important thing about a human ingesting vampire venom." He appeared to be sad and unsure of how to continue. "I wouldn't be telling you now on top of everything else if it wasn't important and it is important." Just spit it out already. I gripped Bella tightly, she was fearful. "You're sick Bella."

"Sick?" Bella questioned confused.

"What do you mean Carlisle? Spit it out," I hissed at him. We didn't have time to beat around the bush.

"The venom will end up killing Bella, it could be days, weeks, months, or years. I'm not sure, I'd have to do some more research." Bella was going to die, my Bella, no, there must be a mistake. My grip on Bella tightened even more. It seemed like she was mirroring my own emotions at the moment. "I don't think it will be soon." Carlisle continued. "From what I read she will become very sick towards the end, giving us enough time to change her into a vampire if that's what's decided. Because she's not feeling sick presently is probably because she didn't ingest a huge amount. Bella could live for a decade if we're lucky, but not much longer than that I'm afraid."

I gripped Bella even tighter and she pulled the shield back so it was just around the two of us, effectively pushing Carlisle out.

"How are you?" I just had to ask.

"I'm going to die, no if, I'm just going to die."

"I know Bella, it's not ideal, at all." I picked her up so that she was straddling my lap and she buried her face into my chest and began crying quietly. "It'll be okay, we'll work it out."

"I don't want to die, and I don't know if I want to become a vampire, but I know that I don't want to lose you," Bella's small voice whispered.

"I don't want to lose you either. I'm going to be selfish and say that I want you to become a vampire, to be like me, just so I can have you for eternity, but I said the decision was up to you and I meant it. I'm not going to change you into a vampire unless you want it and furthermore not until you're ready."

We were silent for a bit and Bella's emotions were shifting, she was working out how to feel about all this. My eyes never left her back, I didn't want to look at the others right now. I knew my face would say it all. Pain, the pain of losing Bella was too much for me right now. I knew that we were mated and I knew that I wouldn't be able to survive without her. Bella eventually lifted her head and met my eyes.

"Promise me," she whispered, she was still frightened but there was a streak of seriousness coursing through her. "You promise me that if I'm dying that you'll change me, okay? I want you to make me a vampire. I don't want to die because of what that bitch did to me. I shouldn't have to die because two sadistic vampires wanted me to be their pet. I deserve to be happy Jasper, I deserve to be happy with you."

I leant down and kissed her straightaway. Just a small kiss, I didn't deepen it, but it was a long kiss. I projected everything I was feeling right now to her, desperately hoping that she could feel my love and gratitude towards her. She did and I could feel a small amount of love come from her. It wasn't a big amount, but it was some, and some love towards me was definitely better than none. I looked up and saw Charlotte standing by Peter with Bella's breakfast.

"Your breakfast is here," I told Bella and she glanced over at Charlotte. "I want to stay right here with you, especially after what we just found out, but Alice." I didn't elaborate. Bella's gaze drifted over to Alice's slumped form, as did mine. I needed to find out what was wrong with Alice as soon as possible. We had been 'together' for decades and she really meant a lot to me as a sister and a friend, and it hurt me to see her in pain.

"It's okay," came Bella's shaky reply. I could tell she didn't want to leave my side but she was willing to let me go.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," I promised her. "Who do you want to eat with? Rose?"

"Charlotte," she answered at the same time I mentioned Rose and her request caught me off guard.

"How about both of them?" I suggested. I didn't know if Charlotte would be able to control herself around Bella so I wanted Rose to be there just in case.

"Okay." Bella shifted off me slightly before sliding her hand into my pocket. She was awfully close to 'the major' if you know what I mean, what the hell was she doing? Thankfully she pulled her hand out before I decided to throw her on the floor and rip her clothes off. She saw my beyond confused expression and held up my Confederate States of America half dollar coin. "For good luck," she told me. "I might need it."

"You could have asked," I told her projecting a small amount of my lust, she blushed, but didn't say anything.

She got off my lap, taking her shield with her and walked over to Charlotte. "Rose," I spoke. "Go with them please." She nodded her head and followed Bella and Charlotte into the kitchen. I wasted no time and went over to Alice at the stairs and knelt down in front of her. "Come on," I said as I held out my hand, she took it. I led her into the forest, far enough away from the house that we would be heard, but close enough for me to still feel Bella's emotions. "What's going on?" I asked her.

"I had a vision," she answered but did care to elaborate.

"Of?" I prompted her gently.

"Edward," she sucked in a breath and sat down on a nearby fallen tree. I stayed where I was standing, a few feet away, and waited for her to continue. It took a while but she spoke again. "He's not my mate." Her emotions hit me then, the main one being distraught.

Edward wasn't her mate? But she was so sure of this? I thought she was having visions of their future together? Maybe it was only wishful thinking on her part.

"How do you know?" I walked over to her and knelt in front of her, taking her hands within my own.

"I saw him, with her," a flash of pain went through her.

"Do you know who it was?" Please don't say Tanya, I knew Alice wouldn't be able to handle that.

"I don't have a name, but I know when she'll come." I didn't press her, I just waited for her to continue. "Victoria's army," she spoke, changing the subject I guess. "Not all of them want to be there, she's tricked the newborns into fighting along her side, but they don't really want to be there, not all of them anyway."

This wasn't really news to me. When I was changing humans for Maria's army we just told them that they should comply or they would be killed. It was as simple as that. All armies were made up with people who didn't really want to be there, even the human ones.

"What are you getting at?" I asked her.

"A young girl, maybe fifteen, she's new to this world. She has a close friend, an older boy, but he disappears before the fight. She comes with the army but she doesn't fight, she even tries to help us. Something keeps changing though. In some visions we let her live." Why would we let her live? She's on the wrong side. "In some we kill her. She's Edward's mate, if she survives... Edward is so happy with her Jasper, I've seen it, but it just hurts so bad."

"Come here," I sat next to her on the fallen tree and brought her into a hug. Would we really allow a newborn to survive just because she's Edward's mate. I couldn't see it, but I knew that some of the others would. Carlisle and Esme for one, probably Bella too, but would the others allow it? I wasn't sure I'd even allow it. "We could kill the girl first," I suggested to Alice and she pushed me away. "What?" I asked as I picked myself up off the ground. "It was just a suggestion."

"I love Edward, I truly do. You can feel that. There is nothing more I want for him then for him to be happy, truly happy, and if this newborn makes him happy then I won't stand in the way of that and I won't let you either."

Okay, I guess that's settled. I really didn't care either way, at least with Edward having a mate he should settle down and start getting better emotionally. I'm still not sure if I'd be able to trust him with Bella but we were taking a step in the right direction.

"Fine," I accepted out loud. "She lives, but let me tell you this Alice," I knelt down in front of her again. "This means that your mate is out there somewhere, you'll just have to wait for them, okay?"

"But I don't see anything. Sometimes my future is there and sometimes it's blank, and I can't work out if it's Bella's shield that is affecting me or if it's something else."

"Are you doing okay?" Her emotions were settling down now but I just had to ask her.

"Not really, but I will be. As long as he's happy right?"

"Right?" My response came out as a question. I didn't want to be all for Edward and his mate if Alice never found someone for herself.

"Just thank you Jasper, you know, for caring."

"I will always care for you Alice, as I said before we're just transitioning, nothing's changing, my feeling towards you will never change. I'll always want to look out for you, make sure you are happy. I want you to find your mate and I'll help you in any way that I can."

She'd be fine, she just needed to get used to the idea of Edward not being her mate. Hopefully she would find her mate soon so it would be easier for her to deal, but right now I needed to head back to the house. I needed to set up a schedule for the patrols. We needed pairs patrolling the Cullen property and the surrounding woods twenty-four seven. If there was an unknown vampire in the area we needed to know immediately and capture them if possible. We had to get ahead somehow. I also had to look out for Bella. Learning that you were going to die no matter what and there's nothing that you can do about it has got to be hard, especially on top of everything else she was dealing with. I needed to be by her side.


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N-** Thanks for reviewing I should work on some replies. I always mean to reply to y'all then I post the next chapter and always forget. I'm going to go back three chapters and reply to you if you wrote something worth replying to, so look out for that :)

Enjoy.

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><p><em>Jasper's POV<em>

I made it back to Bella, after my talk with Alice, and I frowned at what I saw.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked Bella confused. She tore her gaze off Charlotte and Rose and looked at me.

"They were bickering," she dropped her head. "Both thought they knew what was best for me."

"What did you do?" I asked her as I looked back at the two vampires who appeared to be shielded together.

"They wouldn't get along. I remembered hearing that when two people don't get along you put them in a room together, I just thought it, and this happened." She motioned towards the two vampires who were in an intense staring contest.

She was feeling amused. I sighed.

"You've got to let them free. Pull your shield back." Bella looked at me confused but pulled the shield off the two strong female vampires. I got a read on their emotions, they were confused and not happy at all. "You ready to go?" I asked Bella, hoping we could leave before Charlotte or Rose decided to speak. Bella nodded her head and I picked her up and ran out into the forest with her. I set her down on the other side of the river and she looked at me confused.

"Tell me what you're feeling," she spoke quietly, "towards me."

She could tell I was upset it seemed, maybe I was projecting.

"I think you were reckless to play around with Charlotte and Rose like that," I told her truthfully, and I was. It could have easily backfired on her. Charlotte and Rose tended to act on their feelings and reflect on it later. They never thought first.

"I told you it was subconscious, I didn't mean to shield them together." I could feel her remorse.

"You just have remember that we are in fact vampires. Most of us are instinctual and I wasn't there to protect you." I dropped my head. I would never be able to live with myself if something happened to her when I wasn't there.

"Are we okay?" Bella asked, she was scared.

"Yes." I placed my hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "I'm just stressed, everything with Victoria, not knowing much. Things will calm down once she's dead."

"I agree," her voice was still timid. "Remind me to tell you something after she's dead, a couple of days after, okay?"

"Why can't you just tell me now?" Seriously, this girl and her secrets.

"It's got nothing to do with me at all, I promise. I wouldn't even be bringing it up now but as you would probably know human memories are not that good, so all I want you to do is to remind me that I have something to tell you. Please Jasper."

Nothing to do with her?

"Fine," I accepted. I didn't not need to worry about this on top of everything else. "Let's go." I grabbed her arm and pulled her onto my back.

I was surprised, after she wrapped her good arm and both her legs around me she leant down and placed a soft kiss on my neck. We'd be alright in the long run. We'd probably always fight, but we'd be fine. She buried her head into my neck and I heard her suck in a breath, she was smelling me. I smiled at her actions before taking off towards the caves. I needed a satisfying meal today and elk would not do. I was close to the caves when I stopped, helping Bella down from my back.

"Do you trust me?" I asked her as I took a couple of steps back from her.

"Yes," she wasn't lying. I still couldn't believe that she trusted me fully. She didn't know me, didn't know what I had done during my time with Maria, yet she trusted me. It must be a mate thing.

"Stand there," I told her. "When I instruct take three steps forward and then stop, don't move okay."

"Okay?" Her voice faltered out of confusion and not fear, good.

I quickly scrambled up the side of the mountain and then signaled Bella to step forward. She took three steps and then stopped just like instructed. Then just as I had planned a giant grizzly bear came out of the cave to see what was going on. The second the bear spotted Bella I jumped onto his back from behind and drained him dry. He died instantly. The bear fell and I felt satisfied for the first time in a long time. Grizzlies always did that for me, nowhere near as good as human blood, but still good. The only problem is that Emmett has claim on all bears, hopefully he'll make a exception here. I grabbed the bear and put him back in his cave. I made sure I didn't make a mess and I didn't, except a few small drops of blood on my jeans. I was attempting to rub them dry when a mix of emotions came from Bella, I met her eyes.

"Can I be serious for a moment?" She asked me.

"Of course, it's encouraged," I attempted to joke with her, she didn't return my smile though.

"I don't know how you'll feel about this, but," she paused, looking for the right words I suppose. "When I become a vampire." Yes? "I will not be drinking from animals, I can't. Maybe one day, but after James forced those coyotes on me... I just can't imagine drinking animal blood. I don't expect you to change your diet for me, but this is my decision and I wanted you to know."

Wow. No animal blood. I didn't even know how to process this. Sure it made sense in some weird way, but what got me was that she was willing to take human lives because of what James did to her. I'm not sure I agreed with her, but I wouldn't talk her out of it. I would stand by her decision, stand by her. God knows I've killed more than my fair share of humans. We'd deal with it when we had to, but in the meantime I was not going to tell Carlisle, he wouldn't be able to understand her decision at all.

"Okay," I finally accepted out loud.

She started walking ahead of me, something else appeared to be on her mind. I caught up to her and grabbed her hand within her own.

"Can I ask you something?" She was nervous now.

"Can you stop asking me for my permission?" She frowned at me. "I'm just saying that you don't have to ask me before you speak, just tell me what you want to tell me. I'm a big boy I think I will always see where you're coming from."

It was seriously annoying that she kept on asking, can I do this, can I ask this. I just wanted her to do these things all on her own, she didn't need my permission for anything.

"I'd say you are a pretty serious person... vampire," she corrected, "But there are times like right now, with the bear that could have killed me, where you act with such reckless abandon. I just don't understand. It's like you don't consider the consequences." I was silent. I knew there were times where I acted like a child for lack of a better example, but I didn't know how to answer her. She took my silence on board and decided to continue explaining. I kept my hand in hers making sure we were walking in the direction of the reservation. "The second day I was at school, you grabbed my hand, you didn't care if I had a bad reaction."

"You-you knew that was me?" I faltered. I had made sure to step away from her when I grabbed her so that she wouldn't know it was me. Sure it wasn't my finest moment and I knew that I had no good reason as to why I risked her emotional health.

"Not at first," she responded, "But I caught your reflection in the window at the end of the hallway." I can't believe she was doing the same thing as me, looking in the reflection, and that she knew it was me. "I just want to know why you do these things."

"I don't know," I answered and that was the truth. I had no idea why I acted the way I did, I just did. "Maybe it's just how I let go, you know. As you said I'm serious a lot of the time, maybe I finally feel free when I do something 'reckless'." She seemed to ponder my answer and pushed the matter no further. "You better shield us," I told her, we were almost upon the treaty line. Hopefully Bella's shield would block us from the wolves.

As soon as she shielded us I placed her back on my back and ran off towards the reservation. I had to be quick just in case the wolves were immune to Bella's shield. I hit the outskirts of the reservation and made my way quickly to the Clearwater house. Charlie's scent was seeping from this house. I sneaked in the back door, glad to not have been discovered, and set Bella down. "You should probably keep your shield up for now." I told Bella as I grabbed her non broken arm into my own hand and led her to where I could sense Charlie. He had his eyes closed as we entered but he must have sensed us, even under Bella's shield, because he opened his eyes.

"You're not supposed to be here?" Charlie's raspy voice reached me as Bella included him in our shield. I nodded in agreement. "What is this?" Charlie lifted his hand and his finger rippled along Bella's shield.

"It's mine," Bella spoke quietly. "It's a shield."

Charlie looked on confused.

"Like my ability," I told him and he seemed to work it out.

"Drop it," Charlie told her seriously. "You don't need to use that shield here, I don't want you to." Bella looked at me concerned, but I nodded my head. Charlie was Bella's father, she had to do what he said, and it's not like I didn't deserve a run in with the wolves after I almost killed Charlie. "Hey," Charlie said as he grabbed my arm. I looked at him but my eyes were immediately drawn to the bruises on his neck. I still couldn't believe that the Major nearly killed him. "I don't blame you."

He didn't blame me? What? How could he not blame me for almost killing him? I didn't have time to respond because Bella had dropped her shield and there was a fuming wolf standing in the doorway in human form.

"Sam," Charlie's raspy voice floated weakly across the room. "Leave. He is not the one that attacked me."

"The scent is the same," Sam growled back.

"Please, he's fine," Charlie told him but the wolf didn't budge.

A woman appeared in the doorway, Sue I assumed, and placed her hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam met her gaze before reluctantly leaving.

"Sorry about that," her soft voice reached me. "Charlie has told me a lot about you, both of you."

"Bella," Charlie spoke. "Can you leave Jasper and I alone for a minute." Bella frowned. "Don't worry I won't do anything rash. I've learnt from my mistake."

"Okay," Bella leant over Charlie and placed a kiss on his forehead before leaving the room.

"Charlie, I'm so sorry," I blurted out, head cast downwards.

"Nonsense kid," Charlie smiled weakly at me. "I know it wasn't you, it was your dark side."

"Dark side?" He knew about the Major? He could tell us apart? Just like Bella could.

"Yes. I don't know what yours is called but I've met Isabella before." He had? Just how much did Charlie really know? Especially if he was running with the wolves. I could feel the love that he and Sue seemed to share and it was genuine. "I don't blame you Jasper. Sure the fact that you're a vampire scares the crap out of me, but I trust you with Bella."

I knew then that I had to tell him all about James, about Bella.

"Bella's captor, James, was a vampire." Charlie's shock hit me immediately. I fell to my knee as the full impact of my statement reached Charlie. His emotions were strong, like Bella's. I placed a hand on my chest and rubbed it, I knew it wouldn't alleviate Charlie's pain, but I did it anyway. I don't know if it was because he was Bella's father but I hated seeing him in pain.

Charlie looked up at me and saw the pain running across my face.

"Sorry," he muttered and then I couldn't feel anything. How could he shut off his emotions like Bella? It was strange?

"It's fine," I said as I picked myself up off the ground. Charlie and Bella definitely were alike it seemed. "There's more," I got another shot of shock from Charlie before he covered it up. "James had a mate," Charlie looked confused. "Like imprinting for the wolves," I told him hoping he would understand and he did. "James' mate, Victoria, didn't like Bella, she did some horrible things to her and now she's out there waiting for revenge."

"The two hikers?" Charlie questioned his face turning white.

"Victoria, or some other vampire," I confirmed his suspicions. I knew he couldn't take much more so I didn't tell him about Bella's diagnosis, that she didn't have long to live, I knew he wouldn't be able to deal with that information right now. "We're planning our line of attack right now and we have someone constantly patrolling the forest to make sure there's no vampires around."

"Charlie," Sue's saddened yet frantic voice came across us as she appeared in the doorway. "He needs to go, now."

"Seth?" Charlie questioned matching her concern. "He's still a boy."

What was going on?

"No, it's Leah. He needs to go. We can't have Leah believing that the reason she changed into a wolf is because Jasper was here. I'll make Sam swear that it was one of the others and not Jasper, he owes Leah anyway, but he needs to leave."

Wait, what? Leah, a girl? Was making the change into a wolf, now? Because of me?

"Just leave Jasper, take Bella with you." I nodded and took his advice.

I found Bella in the front room with her arm around a small boy.

"We need to go," I told her and she jumped up immediately.

"It will be okay Seth," she promised him. "I'll come back okay?"

She made her way over to me and shielded me. I picked her up and ran as fast as I could. I needed to get over the treaty line before anyone else knew I was there. I made it over the invisible line but I kept on running. Was this girl really changing just because of my presence? How many other kids had become wolves just because of my family's presence?

"Calm down," Bella whispered. "Sue told me that you weren't responsible, that the Cullen's aren't responsible, it's the unknown vampires. The wolves know that your family isn't a threat, but they know that these new vampires are. If it's anyone's fault it's mine."

I had just jumped the river and I sat Bella down on her feet immediately.

"It's not your fault," I assured her.

"And it's not yours either," I nodded my head in acceptance. Surely someone couldn't make the change from the few minutes I was actually there, but still.

We continued the short walk to the house and I was angered to find everybody there. Who the hell was on patrol if everyone was here?

"Who's patrolling?" I asked and no one answered. Did they not see how important this was? "Peter, please explain this one to me?"

"I made a schedule," he said, head bowed, as he passed me a clipboard. "They're the ones not sticking to it."

I glanced down at the immaculately made up schedule, it was perfect, all except one thing. The two who were supposed to be on patrol right now, Edward and Alice.

"These two can't patrol right now and not together," I told Peter as I handed him the board back. "Skip onto the next pair." I heard Charlotte let out a groan and my eyes were on her, challenging her to speak up.

"Peter and I have been patrolling all night, I think we deserve a break."

"I don't care," I shot back. Really? It was a half an hour patrol until the next couple took over. "Just do it."

"You can't force her," Bella spoke up. Seriously?

"Bella we have a schedule, a good schedule and everyone must stick to that and do their part. It's all for your safety after all." Didn't she understand that.

"You said that everyone must do their part yet you allow Edward and Alice off, I don't think that's fair, and why aren't I on the list if everyone is to do their part?" Was she being serious right now?

"You are a human Bella, furthermore you're the one they're after, they don't care about us, only you and here we are working out a plan to save you and what? You don't even appreciate it."

"Do not put words in my mouth Jasper Whitlock. You can sense emotions, you know how I feel about all this."

I knew I was digging myself a bigger hole every time I opened my mouth but I just couldn't back down.

"I'm going to leave," I hissed at her. "I'll take over the patrol with Peter, and Charlotte can have her rest, is that suitable for you? Maybe you should go back to your father, I'm sure the wolves would protect you."

"Maybe I will," she challenged me.

"You should," I countered leaving no room for debate. "I'm sure someone will escort you there."

It would be good if I could get her to go to the reservation, for her to have a few days away from the vampire world with her father, then she would be better. She would come out stronger. She just needed a break, we all needed a break.

"Anyone?" She questioned me, still challenging me.

"Anyone," I agreed. I just couldn't wait to leave this house and clear my head.

"Edward?" she questioned and I knew she was trying to get a rise out of me.

"I said anyone didn't I?" I repeated not missing a beat. She frowned at me before turning around. I didn't wait to see where she was going. I was out the door and into the forest before she knew it, leaving her behind me, Peter by my side.

"You're an ass," Peter spoke halfway through our patrol.

"I know this."

"Smart, but still an ass," he smiled at me like an idiot. Seriously?

"She may be hiding her emotions from me but I could tell how much calmer and at peace she was with her father at her side. It'll be good for her. I'll retrieve her when we have a plan. In the meantime the wolves will keep her safe."

"I hope you're right."

"You know I'm right." Fucker always knew shit.

"Maybe, but you don't know the extent of the things you just put into motion by sending her there." He was still smiling like an idiot.

"As long as it's good I don't really care Peter," and I didn't. As long as the wolves adopted Bella as one of their own she'd be safe, and with Charlie and Sue being together it shouldn't be a problem.

"Oh, it's good, extremely good." I wanted to question him so bad but I resisted. He picked up a scent and took off running. I gave chase as well, this scent was unfamiliar to me. Hopefully it was Victoria's and we could end this thing right now, but I knew that was highly doubtful. Either way we needed to catch whoever it was and finally get some answers.

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><p><strong>AN- **Review and I'll update sooner rather than later


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N- **So sorry this took so long, I had like 80% of it written like... two and a half months ago, or however long ago it was that I last updated. I have no excuses really, I've been pretty busy though and focused on writing my first novel, but fear not I believe that we shall have the next 25 chapters of this story out within a month or so.

Anyway thanks to all of you who reviewed, I really appreciated them and you are the sole reason as to why I'm continuing this story and not just leaving it unfinished, so thank you.

Sorry if this chapter is short or lacking, especially towards the end, but I just had to get it posted as it's been haunting me for two months and now I can finally move on.

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><p><em>Jasper's POV<em>

"Oh it's so good, really," Peter gushed like a fucking idiot, giddiness coursing through him. He always was good at multitasking, I however liked to focus on one thing at a time.

"Focus Peter," I barked at him. We were still chasing the unknown vampire, gaining on them with every minute that passed. Although I knew it was probably not Victoria, it was still someone. Hopefully someone we could gain some information from.

"But really, so good." Was he ever going to shut up about this? Ever since I sent Bella to be with her father, to be with the wolves, Peter wouldn't shut the hell up. How much could really change by sending Bella away for a few days? I didn't see it, but clearly Peter and his fucking gift knew something that I didn't. "So, so good. You might not be on board, hell it mightn't even happen, but just know that I'm on board."

I looked over at him and he was smiling like a motherfucker. I let out a sigh. Still gaining on the unknown vampire.

"Are you going to tell me what it is?" I finally broke down and asked him. I got a shot of amusement from him and I knew that the fucker would never tell me. "Fine," I accepted. "Just pay attention to the task at hand."

"You mean the black guy with dreadlocks?" Peter questioned me with a smirk. Dreadlocks? Did he see the guy? I looked ahead but I couldn't see anything. I sent him my irritation. "Relax," he told me, "The guy wants to be caught, he's torn between Victoria and... the greater good."

How the fuck did he know all this? Stupid fucker.

"Just shut the fuck up and focus, for once," I growled at him as I sped up even faster, wanting to catch this guy sooner rather than later.

"Ah Major?" He questioned looking at me questioningly, knowing that I was fed up with him. I lifted my head for him to continue, he wouldn't have spoken if it wasn't important, he knew my limits. "We can't take him back to the house, it's what he wants."

Then we wouldn't. We were finally catching up and I could see him in the distance.

"Oklahoma, 1807," I gave Peter instructions as we came closer to the rogue vampire. Peter nodded his head in understanding and darted left.

We always used past battles as our code of what mode of attack to use. We could recall every battle clearly, the year and the place, so it made communicating secretly easily. Oklahoma, 1807. Oklahoma had just become a state and Maria wanted claim on it, she didn't care who was in her way. We planned and we attacked. It was a fairly easy turnover, all except one. One lone vampire got away, they ran. Peter and I chased after them and eventually caught them and killed them. No loose ends was always the best policy. As the situations were similar I'd put in the same tactics here. I came up behind the vampire and sent him a massive dose of fear and he faltered in his step. Peter wasted no time and wrapped his arms around him from behind. The guy struggled but Peter's grip never faltered. I wasted no time in ripping his left leg from his body and holding onto it.

"What's your name?" I asked him, swinging his leg in front of his face.

"La-Laurent," he faltered the pain seeping through his voice.

"What's your purpose here?" I asked and he immediately clamped his mouth shut. It looked like he wasn't going to say anything. I guess Victoria had underestimated us. I gauged his pain within myself before doubling it and sending it back to him. He screamed out and slumped in Peter's grasp. I didn't speak but I knelt down so that I was in his eye line, just waiting for him to answer my question.

"Victoria," he finally spoke. "She's after the girl, the human girl. I don't know her name I swear."

He was lying. I didn't hesitate as I grabbed my lighter out of my pocket and lit it. Laurent's eyes went wide, he knew where I was going with this. I lit the leg of the pants still attached to his torn off leg on fire and it quickly caught alight. Although his leg was no longer attached Laurent could still feel the pain as if it was attached. It would take a while to burn completely, giving me some time, but once it was burnt it was gone forever and Laurent knew this.

"Tell the truth. Everything you know, and maybe I'll spare your life." I was a master at lying and Laurent bought it. There was no way he was leaving here alive. It went against everything I've been taught. Better to deal with a threat when you have the chance rather than wait for it to become a bigger problem later on.

"Okay, okay," he screamed out, still in pain. I'd give him a slight reprieve so that he could tell me all he knew. I ripped the fabric that was on fire and tore it from his detached leg. The small flames that were still there slowly died off. The fire was gone, for now. "Victoria, she has an army, thirty newborns, but it changes daily. She can't keep them in line, that's why Riley's there, he's just over a year old. He looks after the newborns whilst Victoria's off somewhere else. I don't know where she is I swear." He was telling the truth. "She wants her numbers to be strong before she attacks, wants her newborns to be ruthless. She sent me to spy on you, for me to tell you that I had switched sides, to get an inside look and see how many of you there were and if you had any abilities. As soon as you jumped me and ripped my leg off I knew I was in over my head. James was almost like a brother to me so I had to go along with his mate, I had to."

I completely ignored his last statement, it just secured his death. Any brother of James would be killed instantly.

"What does she know of us?" I just had to ask.

"Nothing," Laurent breathed out. "She sent Riley to break into the human's room, to steal her clothes, she wanted the newborns to get aquatinted with the scent. He noted the unusual vampire smells surrounding the house. He scouted the town and picked up a lot of your scents. He told Victoria that there were five of you, seemingly connected to Bella, protecting her. She knows no more, I swear."

He was still telling the truth, there was one problem though, Victoria had been sighted in Forks. Her red hair was a dead giveaway, although Laurent may have been kept in the dark we couldn't underestimate Victoria and what she knew. We'd just have to assume that she knew everything. We were done here. He had told us all that he knew. I nodded to Peter and he grabbed Laurent's arms and threw them to me. I made a pile in front of me and set it on fire. "No!" Laurent screamed out just as Peter tore his head off handing it to me. "You promised," he cried to me.

"I didn't promise anything," I told him swiftly before dropping his head into the flames. Peter kicked his body forward and it joined the rest of his limbs.

We stood there and we waited. Waited for everything to turn to ash. You had to be careful with vampires, some were so determined that they somehow found a way out of the flames as soon as you turned your back and put themselves back together. Plus there was something comforting about witnessing a threat's demise first hand that I just craved. The fire eventually burnt out and the wind scattered the ashes. We didn't speak, Peter knew I liked my silence after a kill, and we made our way back to the Cullen house.

"Okay next pair, you're up," I said as soon as we walked through the door. Rose and Emmett stepped forward. Even though we just killed Laurent we needed to keep the patrols up and running just in case anyone else dared to come near.

"Wait, what happened?" Rose asked me confused. "Why do you smell like ash?"

I sighed. "We caught one of Victoria's guys, Laurent, dark skin, dreadlocks. He's dead now." They stayed standing there. "Go!" I barked at them. Were the Cullen's still confused about how important these patrols really were? "Now!"

Thankfully they took the hint and left.

"Bella called," Esme spoke carefully, "She needs her pain medication. We waited in case you wanted to take it to her."

"No, someone else can take it." Esme's face fell. The whole reason I sent Bella to go to the reservation was so that she'd have some time on her own with her father, it wouldn't be good if I just came and visited her all the time, she needed to be away from vampires, away from me. Her emotions weren't good lately and she had already had one breakdown. There was no doubt that when she was with her father that she was calmer and that's what I was trying to achieve here. I wanted her to not worry about anything for a few days, it'd be good for her.

"I'll go," Edward spoke. I could feel his hopefulness but also his doubt. I'd throw him a bone this time.

"Fine. Alice go with him," she walked past me and I grabbed her hand and whispered so only she could hear. "I want you to deal with everything, Edward's mate, everything. You'll be running patrols with Edward tonight and I don't want any screw ups."

"Okay," she accepted as she followed Edward out.

Hopefully with it just being her and Edward she'd open up to him, tell him about his mate, get things sorted. We didn't need internal rifts with everything else going on.

"What happened with the guy?" Carlisle asked us. "Why did you kill him?"

"He was a part of James' coven. Seems to be just the three James, Victoria and Laurent."

"So he knew about Bella then?" Esme asked sadly.

"He didn't say. He would have known what was happening but I don't think he ever met Bella."

"But you killed him anyway?" Carlisle asked.

"Of course," I answered. There was no way I was letting Laurent live, I don't show mercy to those who don't deserve it. "He told us all he knew and that's that."

"But-"

"Look," I sighed as I cut Carlisle off. "He was loyal to his coven, just like everyone in this coven is loyal to each other. If we let him live and killed Victoria then he'd be back, he'd feel obligated to avenge Victoria and James' death, just as we would if any of us died. It was better to kill him now before he became a problem."

"What's the plan?" Charlotte asked the question that had seemingly been forgotten.

"We keep up the patrols, though I doubt anyone will come close after Laurent's death, and we make a plan. A plan where we assume Victoria knows everything, that she knows our abilities. We prepare for around thirty newborns, and by prepare I mean that Peter and I will teach those who wish to fight how to fight."

"What about Bella? Will she come back after the fight?" Esme's concern washed over me.

"No, Bella will be back before the fight."

"Why?" Esme asked me and I could feel her confusion. Had the Cullen's ever been in a fight before in their lives?

"Aside from the fact that her shield could be useful and the fact that she will want to confront her tormentor and see her suffer, Victoria is after Bella," I was met with blank stares, did I have to spell this out for them? "Victoria's building an army, an army just so that she can kill Bella. We need Bella in our sights, we can protect her if she's with us. Stashing her somewhere out of our sight and senses is just reckless and irresponsible, how would we know if she was in trouble? Victoria would easily kill her before we even had a chance to get to her."

Great now I was thinking of the fact that even though I was going to plan this out completely, the right way, that Bella may still get killed. I needed a minute, I needed Bella. Why did I send her to the reservation again? I didn't say anything I just left them, mid conversation, and went up to my room. Bella's green sweatshirt was on my bed and I picked it up immediately. I brought it to my nose and took a sniff. _Shit. _I must have worn it last, it smelt like me, only a small trace of Bella, my Bella. I had to stay strong. I had to focus on making a plan where she would be safe no matter what. I walked over to my desk and sat down.

I began planning, but every single plan I came up with had at least one big flaw and I couldn't have that. I would not risk Bella's life. I don't know how many different situations I went through but I was getting more and more frustrated. Bella was human, she was breakable, she could die. I was always a good strategic planner but Bella was clouding my vision. I heard a tentative knock on my door, it was Peter. I didn't want to speak to anyone right now, let alone Peter, but I allowed him to enter. He came in and knelt before me in front of my desk.

"Speak," I commanded him.

"A suggestion," he pulled his eyes up from the ground and met mine. "Remove Bella from the equation."

"No, Bella will be at the fight, she deserves that much after everything that she's been through," I immediately protested.

"You misunderstand me Major."

"Explain it to me then," I was losing my patience the longer this conversation went on.

"You need to think of Bella as a faceless human with a very powerful shield. Don't bring Bella into your thoughts, think of her as just a human we are protecting. Remember that she is breakable so she needs added protection, but also remember that she has a shield that could rival any vampires."

He was right, as always. Bella was clouding my judgment so I needed to remove her from my thoughts. I had to plan this as though I had no attachment to the human we were protecting, that I didn't really care if she lived or died, but I'd protect her with my life anyway because that was my mission. Peter got up and left me be, fucking smirk firmly in place. I allowed him to leave, any other case I would have wiped that damn smirk off his face but I had a battle to plan. Not to mention having to train the Cullen's so that they at least knew how to fight. It was going to be a long couple of days. I just hoped Bella was doing well. That was the last thought I allowed myself to have of her, I needed to keep her out of my mind until I retrieved her for the battle.

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><p><strong>AN- **Next up is going to be a little bit of Bella's POV I reckon. She's up to no good with the wolves and Charlie, you'll see, well it depends on how much I decide to reveal, haha.

Review and I promise that it won't take as long to update this time round. Promise, so review please.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N-** I started writing this chapter as soon as I posted the last chapter as I wanted to get this out to you guys as soon as possible.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, very much appreciated, I missed you guys.

I'm going to try and update once a day, or once every two days at the latest, hopefully everything goes to plan.

Anyway enjoy some Bella POV

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><p><em>Bella POV<em>

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Charlie asked me motioning towards the notebook in front of me, his voice was still strained from the Major's attack.

"I don't know," I replied truthfully looking up. "It's just those vampires, James, Victoria, they shouldn't have been able to kidnap me for two years, they shouldn't have been able to force me to do things which I didn't want to do, things that have altered my life forever. We're not supposed to know about vampires dad, it's a death sentence, but none of that matters anyway because I already have a death sentence."

My face paled. I hated more than anything that ingesting Victoria's venom was going to kill me. It was a somber thought knowing that I was going to die no matter what I did. That's why I made Jasper promise me that he'd turn me, I didn't want to let them win, I wanted to die on my own terms. I know it's hard to kill a vampire, but surely there's a way to commit vampire suicide if that's what I chose. I knew I most likely wouldn't kill myself, not with Jasper being my mate, but that wasn't the point, no, I wanted the option, the chance to be able to end my own life on my own terms not just because of two sadistic mated vampires deemed it to be.

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked me confused with a pained expression on his face. "What's this talk about a death sentence, you know you don't have to become a vampire right? You can live here in peace with me and the Clearwater's, you know that right?"

"Oh," I frowned. "I assumed Jasper told you."

"Told me what?" He was almost frantic now. How was I supposed to break the news to him that I was sick and that there was no cure, well with the exception of being changed into a vampire?

"Something happened when I was captured, something bad," I paused trying to figure out how to break the news. I was Charlie's only child, he had only just got me back, I could now see why Jasper didn't tell him this part. "I ingested vampire venom, I was forced to," I took another breath. I had a feeling those memories would haunt me forever but I found that it was getting easier to speak the words out loud. "Carlisle researched it, he said he still had to look into it but... I'm sick, that's how he put it. I guess it's like cancer, there's no cure, but I don't think there's any treatment either, as I said Carlisle's still looking into it but he told me that I have less than a decade to live, but that I could die at any time."

Charlie's face paled and he sat bolt upright. The expression on his face broke me, he looked so helpless and I suddenly wished I hadn't told him. He reached forward and brought me into a bone crushing hug, not letting up. I didn't want him to let go. I wanted his comfort and his love. I wanted my dad. I was so lucky to have him back after all this time, but having to die, I didn't want to accept it. It just wasn't fair. I broke down for the second time in recent days, albeit silently. I didn't want to startle Charlie, but I was sure he could feel my tears dampening his shirt, he didn't seem to care though. We were the same right now. We were finally grieving for all we lost, Renée, the two years I was captured, Charlie's despair, and more importantly the future, or the lack of future we would have.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, a long while. We only pulled away when we were all cried out, well I was all cried out, Charlie didn't shed a tear but that's just Charlie. As soon as I pulled back and met his eyes I smiled at him and he smiled back. Sure life was going to hell but then again life went to hell two years ago and we had dealt with that so we'd be able to deal with this as well. I was to become a vampire and Charlie was with the wolves so it was a no brainer in my mind. The wolves knew of the vampires so even when I was changed I could still be with Charlie, I would never have to leave him until he died, it was the best outcome we could've hope for.

"Bella?" I heard Alice's sing-song voice and I quickly wiped my eyes dry and stood up.

"I'll be back," I told Charlie as I handed him my notebook filled with words. "Guard this with your life," I said seriously and Charlie just smiled back before mock saluting me and laying back down on the bed.

I came into the living room and saw not only Alice but Edward as well. It infuriated me that Jasper was still allowing Edward to come to me but I pushed it to the back of my mind, I was not going to think about Jasper if I could help it. I wasn't stupid, I could see why he sent me here. When Charlie and I were together well things just seemed simpler. There was no vampires, no Victoria, no James, we could just pretend that everything was fine even though it was far from it. Sure he didn't need to yell at me and 'force' me here, but he did it anyway. I wanted to be mad at him but I couldn't. He had already done more for me than any other vampire and I could see how much he really cared for me. I had decided I would give him the silent treatment when he returned just to rub it in, but I quickly dismissed that idea. Jasper was getting me back just before the fight and that was not a time where I needed to act like a spoilt child.

"We brought your medication," Edward spoke holding up my backpack, he suddenly seemed uneasy.

"I brought some clothes and other items for you as well," Alice added, "I don't know how long you'll be here but Jasper hinted to a couple of days at least."

"Okay, thanks," I stepped forward and grabbed the backpack off Edward before walking to the adjoining kitchen and swallowing two pain pills immediately hoping that they would take affect soon. I absentmindedly rubbed my plaster encased arm as I turned back around. I frowned, only Alice remained. "Where's Edward?" I asked her and she frowned.

"Are your shields in place?" She asked me and I thought about it. No, they weren't. I had dropped them as I had no need to protect myself here. I was safe here, I knew that the wolves wouldn't hurt me.

"No," I answered still confused.

"Do you remember what you were thinking about in front of Edward?" She seemed serious, almost vulnerable.

"Umm," I tried to think back. I had briefly forgotten that Edward could read minds. "I was just thinking about Jasper, about how I wasn't mad that he sent me here, that I understood why he did it."

"Of course," Alice chimed in. I frowned in confusion, of course what? "I had a vision just now of Edward, he's finally accepted that there is no chance that he will get with you. He can see how much you love Jasper. This is good."

She didn't seem so sure, something was off. I remembered that Jasper had talked to her, that something was wrong. I silently led her over to the couch and sat down next to her.

"What's going on?" I asked her seriously and her façade dropped briefly.

She began picking imaginary pieces of fluff off her pants, she was nervous. I reached out and placed my hand on her knee comfortingly. Hoping that she would tell me, she did.

"I don't know how much Jasper told you but I've thought that Edward was my mate for a long time," she paused and looked anywhere but me. "He's not. I've seen him with another, her name is Bree." She seemed happy and sad at the same time, it was heart wrenching. "At first I was devastated. I thought I was in love with Edward, I thought he was mine for so long." She paused. "I see them now, visions of them, ever since Jasper agreed not to kill her-"

"Wait," I interrupted her. "Why would Jasper want to kill her?"

"Bree comes into our life soon," Alice told me carefully. "She comes with Victoria's army." Victoria's army? We couldn't let her live then. Alice closed her eyes before snapping them back open. "No Bella, she's good, trust me. She doesn't want to be there, doesn't want to fight, a lot of the newborns are tricked into fighting, they don't know any other way," I frowned at that, it seemed so cruel that they would die for a cause which wasn't even their own. Alice had another vision and she smiled at me. "Thank you Bella, even though it pains me I cannot deny that she makes Edward happy, that she's who he needs."

"What about you?" I asked cautiously. I wondered if she now had visions of her mate now that she wasn't hung up on Edward anymore.

"Nothing yet," Alice said wistfully, "I just have to wait, I guess. I can only hope that because Edward will have his mate soon that I'll have mine too."

"Yeah," I agreed distracted. Victoria's army was getting to me, not the fact that she had an army but the face that she had tricked the newborns into fighting for her. They knew no better. Maybe there was something I could do. Maybe I could put some plans into place to separate the ones who didn't want to be there from the others. It wasn't fair that they had to die because of Victoria, it wasn't even fair that Victoria had changed them -ripped them from their lives and why, because of me. I couldn't have that.

I glanced up at Alice and she was looking at me curiously.

"Do you think it would work?" I asked her almost desperately. I couldn't have other innocent vampires dying because of me, I wouldn't.

"To an extent," Alice agreed closing her eyes and checking the future. "You'll have to get everyone on board, everyone will need to play their part for it to work and you'll have to keep this from Jasper, Peter and Charlotte, but it should work. In the very least you will be able to save a few." I frowned, only a few. "Go get a piece of paper, I know a few that will easily switch sides, they don't want to be there at all."

I got up and made my way back to Charlie, he was awake.

"Do you need this?" He showed me the notebook.

"No, this is a new plan, I will work on that later when no one is here," I told him as I bent down and grabbed a few sheets of scrap paper off the floor.

"But she's a mind reader, she'll know anyway," Charlie argued and I smiled at him.

"No," I replied tapping my head, "I'm keeping her blocked from this one. I have a feeling Peter knows but he'll keep his mouth shut. None of the Cullen's will agree with me on it so they will be kept in the dark until it comes about, if it even comes about."

"It will," Charlie smiled at me proudly, "You'll make it so, I know you will."

"Thanks dad," I was so glad I had his support on my plan, it was big, life changing, but I was so glad that Charlie agreed with me that it was ultimately the best idea. I made my way back out and sat at the kitchen table. "Give me the names," I told Alice who was still seated on the couch.

"There's three definite, Bree, Fred and Diego, but Diego disappears before the fight, I don't know where to, I think he's killed by Victoria for some reason, something to do with the sunlight."

I frowned. "Is there any way we can save him?"

Alice searched the future and he face became pale. Not good.

"We can save him she said gravely, it would take a lot but," she paused, "He needs to die... Our plan won't work out if he survives, everyone will die. If he lives Bree won't become Edward's mate. If Edward doesn't feel the need to protect his mate then we don't protect anyone, they all die."

Oh, great. So it was a, sacrifice the one to prevent the deaths of the many. I guess it was a small price to pay but it didn't sit well with me at all, however it would have to be done.

"We leave Diego be," I said with finality. "And after the fight we wish him the best in his afterlife and thank him for his sacrifice."

Alice smiled at me brightly as her phone beeped. She looked down and frowned.

"I'm supposed to be on patrol with Edward in five minutes," she frowned at the phone.

I got up and took the phone off her.

"Don't worry, I need you here," I found her contact list and found the name I was looking for, Emmett. I dialed it and made my way back over to the kitchen table.

"Alice," came Emmett's cheeky voice.

"No, it's Bella," I told him and I heard him breath in.

"Bella?" He said cautiously. I don't know what happened to him, but ever since we were in the hospital after the mudslide he had became weary of me. I'd have to ask him about it. I could not let my future brother become scared of me.

"Emmy Bear," I tried to take a new approach keeping my voice soft. "Can you please take over Alice's patrol for me?"

I looked up when the door opened and in stalked Leah. She was currently making the change into a wolf and she was not happy about it at all. It was a long process seemingly and she did not like taking direction from Sam so she was here more often than not. I had gotten to know her over the past day and I sympathized with her. She sat down on the couch next to Alice and snapped her head towards her. Crap, vampire and wolves did not get along with each other. I extended my shield quickly and covered Alice so that Leah wouldn't be affected by her scent. Leah seemed to relax back into the couch but the vampire and the wolf seemed to be in some kind of stare down, never mind, as long as they weren't killing each other we were good. I turned my attention back to Emmett. He had been silent the whole time.

"Please Emmett, it's important," I heard him sigh. "I'll owe you one." Now that statement got him on board.

"Okay, I'll do it," he accepted.

"And Emmett?" I questioned him. "Come over to the Reservation when you've finished your patrol, I need to talk to you."

"Okay," he seemed nervous again. I disconnected the call so that he could have some peace of mind.

I looked up and Alice and Leah were still staring at each other, no bloodshed yet, maybe the two species could co-exist. I gauged my shield and pulled it back slowly, just enough so that Alice's hand was out. Leah's nostrils flared and she got a murderous look on her face, inching forward slowly. She almost looked murderous. It was all natural instinct I guess. Neither had spoken a word to the other and even with Alice's scent slightly unblocked Leah still hadn't attacked. It was progress if you asked me, but then Leah jumped up into a crouch on the couch and hovered over Alice, still not attacking.

"Don't, please," Alice spoke softly her small voice filtering out through the hole in the shield. Leah sat back slightly.

"Bella," Charlie called out and I quickly shielded Alice back up. I made my way over to Charlie and poked my head in the door. "Can I get some water please?"

"Sure dad," I went back to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and took it in to him. He drank it slowly. I stood there for a few seconds but he spoke no more so I made my way back into the kitchen.

I glanced at the couch and they were still in their weird staring contest, weird. Suddenly Leah straightened out and stood by the couch looking at Alice, I don't even know if she realized that I was here.

"Sam's calling," she eyed Alice wearily before running out the door.

I pulled my shield back from Alice and just waited for Alice to speak, she didn't. I sat back down and stared at my sheet of paper, perhaps she was in shock. I waited until Alice's shoulder's relaxed before I turned back to the task at hand.

"Anyone else we need to save?" I asked her and she spun around to face me looking confused. "Out of Victoria's army," I clarified and seemed to understand.

"Yeah a few," she closed her eyes and focused in on the future. Her eyes were closed for a long time, almost too long, but as I didn't know exactly how her visions worked I left her be.

A good twenty minutes passed and I was starting to get worried, surely a vision wouldn't take this long. I heard a tentative knock at the door and I made my way over to it, Emmett. I invited him in and gestured him to the kitchen table but he stopped midway and stared at Alice.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked and I shrugged my shoulders. "She must be stuck in a vision," Emmett answered like it was a usual occurrence. He didn't hesitate as he raised his hand and hit Alice over the back of the head, hard. She seemed to snap out of it and appeared to be fine.

"You okay Alice?" I just had to ask.

"Yeah, sure," she said hesitantly like she was trying to regain her bearings. "But I've got to go. Add Kristie, Jen, Dean and Sara to your list. Basically you're looking at two waves of attack, Kristie's and Raoul's, Raoul's the bad guy. I'll come back later and we'll talk more."

I didn't even have a chance to respond because she was out the door before I knew it.

"What was that all about?" Emmett asked me confused.

"Not sure," I replied tearing my eyes away from the door and focusing on Emmett. "So Emmett? Why don't you like me?"

He looked at me confused before becoming cautious, and dare I say he was looking a little frightened. He took a breath and squared his shoulders before speaking.

"Jasper's a badass," Emmett spoke quietly, still looking at me cautiously. Well I agreed with him there, if I wasn't so close to Jasper then he'd definitely be the one that I'd fear the most. "That day in the hospital room when I was ribbing Jasper for slicing his own back open... well you stood up for him and it scared the fuck out of me. You weren't afraid of us, you were strong, stronger than I imagined. It just rattled me. I know how bad Jasper can get and now I know how bad you can get, the two of you together, or one of you scorned... I just don't even want to imagine it."

I almost took pity on him.

"It's okay Emmett, I'm on your side, okay?" I said and he nodded his head. "I won't go after you unless it's warranted and trust me you'll know when that happens."

"Good," he breathed out a sigh of relief and sat down. "So what can I help you with?"

"Tell me everything you know about Victoria and her army, everything Jasper's told you."

Emmett agreed and began telling me everything starting with Laurent's death and ending with Jasper's plan to train the Cullen's to fight. I know I had a lot of planning ahead of me and that it would be a lot of hard work, but I'd try and do everything I could to save the newborns who didn't wish to be there. I was about to ask Emmett if he'd join my cause when the front door swung open and a fuming Sam Uley stood in the doorway.

"Leave now," I told Emmett sternly.

"But you-" he began but I cut him off.

"I'll be fine, don't speak a word of any of this to Jasper." He nodded his head solemnly and ran out the back door.

As soon as Emmett was gone Sam was on top of me looking more furious and pained then I had ever seen him. He let out a few grunts and growls.

"Use your words," I prompted him carefully but sternly. I couldn't appear weak in his eyes.

"Leah," the pained expression passed across his face again. "Why has she imprinted on a vampire?" Sam was livid and rightly so, but none of the vampires had been near Leah, only... Alice. Leah imprinted on Alice, this cannot be right.

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><p><strong>AN- **Dun, dun, dun... I didn't know what to reveal in this chapter and what to keep a secret so it is what it is... haha. Review and tell me your thoughts.


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing guys, much appreciated.

Sorry for the wait, I got the new Sookie book and sorry but that definitely takes precedent over this. Plus I bruised my wrist pretty bad, it's on the mend now though.

We're going to stick with Bella and the wolves first off, but then we're going to check back in on Jasper, then finish it off with Bella... Yeah, not confusing at all.

Enjoy

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><p><em>Bella's POV<em>

_As soon as Emmett was gone Sam was on top of me looking more furious and pained then I had ever seen him. He let out a few grunts and growls._

_"Use your words," I prompted him carefully but sternly. I couldn't appear weak in his eyes._

_"Leah," the pained expression passed across his face again. "Why has she imprinted on a vampire?" Sam was livid and rightly so, but none of the vampires had been near Leah, only... Alice. Leah imprinted on Alice, this cannot be right._

"Calm down Sam, I'll get to the bottom of this," I told him and his eyes flared with anger.

"You will find a solution," he barked at me.

"A solution?" I asked him incredulously. "She imprinted on Alice, there's no going back from that."

"Don't. Say. Her. Name." Sam was not happy at all.

"Why?" I countered. "You didn't seem to care when you dumped Leah for your imprint, no, and now you cannot stand that Leah finally has someone. What gets you more though? That Alice is a vampire? Or is it the fact that Alice is female?"

He stepped forward and roughly shoved me up against the door.

"Shut up," he hissed at me.

"Why? Leah deserves happiness."

"She is not happy. I've seen in her head, she doesn't want to be with a vampire, let alone the seer."

"Maybe so, but if there's one thing I've learnt from being around vampires it's that you can't just shake this. Vampires mate for life. If one dies then so does the other. Sometimes they are fueled by vengeance and survive on only that, but trust me when I tell you that if this is indeed true, and they have in fact mated, then there's nothing you can do about, nothing any of us can do about it. You kill Alice, you kill Leah."

Sam huffed, eyeing me carefully before pushing me back against the wall a final time and running out the back door. I straightened myself out and heard a heartbreaking howl from in the woods. I couldn't tell if it was Leah's or Sam's, but it didn't matter. I made my way back into Charlie's room and I caught his frantic expression straightaway.

"I was going to come out," he looked me over, checking for any injuries, "But I know not to interfere in these supernatural things. It was hard though, knowing you were out there with him. All that kept me here was knowing that you have that shield of yours."

"I'm fine dad, and I can handle them. The wolves are harmless, fueled by anger. Plus I'm pretty sure Sue's told them that I cannot be harmed as I'm your daughter."

"Rightly so," Charlie agreed. "So what's the new plan? Fill me in."

"The fight that's coming up with Victoria's army, I assume Jasper's coming up with a plan of attack, but something Alice said just struck a chord with me, she told me that some of the new vampires didn't want to be there, that they didn't want to fight. I don't think it's fair that they must die just because they are on the wrong side. It's unjust."

"I agree, but what are you going to do?" Charlie was concerned, but not totally against the idea.

"Alice said something about two waves of attack before she rushed off, which I can only assume means that one group comes from one way and the other group from the another way. It's simple in my mind. I shield the 'good' group, I reason with them, give them a chance to surrender. If they take it, they survive, if they don't, well..."

"And Jasper's going to be on board with this?"

"No. Jasper won't know. I will talk to Emmett to gain his muscle. I'll talk with Edward to have him read the newborns and gauge whether or not they even want to surrender. And I'll speak to Carlisle, he's all about giving everyone a chance, he'll see my point of view on this. I know I still need to plan it out, but when Jasper's ready, I'll be ready."

"Okay," Charlie accepted. "Just remember the fallout." The fallout? What did he mean by that? "You let the newborns live," Charlie explained, "And then what? You can't have a bunch of brainwashed newborns hanging around here."

Hmm, he was right. I had a sudden idea and it just might work. I needed to get working on my plan if I was to have it ready in time. I wondered how Jasper's plan was going, sure mine would end up pushing his aside, but he'd see where I was coming from... I hoped.

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><p><em>Jasper's POV<em>

I finally had a workable plan. We make a circle around Bella, keep her protected from all sides, never allowing anyone to slip through. It was perfect and it may just work. I knew all the Cullen's would die to protect Bella, and none of them would let the newborns through. We were currently in the backyard teaching the Cullen's to fight. I gave them a choice, I let them know that they didn't need to fight, yet all of them agreed that they wanted to be there. It was a tedious process. It didn't help that everyone seemed to be running off to the reservation to visit Bella. Alice and Emmett were there currently. I had no idea why Emmett was there, but apparently Bella had asked for him.

"Jasper!" I heard an almost human wail and my head immediately shot up.

We all stopped what we were doing and turned towards the house. Alice came stumbling out, scratches all over her body, her fingernails bloody.

"Alice," I breathed out as I rushed to her side and she collapsed into my arms. "What happened? Was it another vampire?"

She shook her head no before drilling her eyes into mine. She looked so helpless. I gauged her emotions. She was devastated, heartbroken, but most frightening she was feeling defeat, an overwhelming amount of defeat. Seeing her emotions first I was not nearly as surprised by what she said next, but it was still shocking.

"Kill me," she pleaded me. I could tell that she had given up, that she couldn't see a way out of whatever this was. That death to her was the option she wanted rather than deal with whatever it was making her feel this way. I must have stayed silent too long because she spoke again. "I tried... I tried to do it myself," I looked down at the deep scratches on her arms and torso, they were already beginning to heal, and I could tell now that they had been self inflicted. "But I can't do it. I just want this to stop... I just want this all to stop."

"Oh, Alice," I wrapped my arms around her as tight as I could and buried her head into my chest. Her emotions were crushing me, even Bella had never felt like this... suicidal. I wondered what happened, but I knew I couldn't force Alice to speak to me.

I looked up and was met with the shocked expressions of my family, everyone but Peter. I zeroed in on him, trying to get a read on him. He was thinking hard, but he was frowning. Had Peter been wrong for once? He said that sending Bella to the reservation was a good thing, but now with Alice, I wasn't sure he was right and he looked like he was thinking the exact same thing. I kept my gaze on him. Everyone else's grief was reaching me, but I pushed it away. Peter's face finally cleared and his frown disappeared. He wasn't smiling, but I could feel relief and a small amount of happiness come from him. Did this mean that everything was going to be alright? I took my eyes off him and looked back down at Alice, she was broken, how could this mean that everything was going to be alright?

"Keep training," I barked at them as I stood up with Alice in my arms. They all seemed to falter before turning their attention back to Peter, all except Esme and Carlisle.

"But Alice," Esme spoke, she couldn't stand to see one of her children hurting so badly.

I let out a warning growl and she cowered.

"Alice asked for me," I told her and I knew immediately that I had hurt her. "If you wish to help then call Bella and find out what the hell happened."

Alice's grip on my shirt tightened and I could feel her fear, yes, Bella definitely knew what happened. I wasted no time in taking Alice up to her room and laying down on the bed with her. I pulled away from her slightly so I could meet her eyes. I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but I wasn't sure that I even wanted to know. What could have happened to make her feel like this? I knew I had to ask her though. We were vulnerable enough already with the fight with Victoria looming, we would need Alice on our side, fighting with us. We could not afford to lose her.

"Alice," I spoke quietly, still looking at her. "Tell me."

Her face went blank. It was like she was having a vision but her emotions told me that she wasn't.

"I... I..." she faltered helplessly. "Just kill me," she was pleading me again and it just about killed me.

"You know I can't Alice, not without a good reason, but... I love you too much to kill you. We've been together forever you and me. It's always been us against everybody else. Let me in. Let me share your burden. Tell me what happened... Please." Now I was the one pleading with her.

"The wolf," she spoke in no more than a whisper, "The girl."

"Leah," I whispered back, remembering the name from when I was on the reservation last. Leah was just making the change into a wolf.

Alice's face scrunched up and I could feel her pain once again.

"She... She imprinted on me," Alice finally got out and her emotions spiked. I brought her body back against mine and held her tightly again.

Leah had imprinted on Alice? Did this mean that Alice felt she was her mate as well?

"What's wrong?" I asked her slightly confused. "Is it because Leah's a wolf? Our natural enemy?"

"No." Then what? I was sure that must have been it. "It's not right." She was so adamant. What wasn't right? "It's not right. All my life I've imagine who I'd end up with... They were going to be strong, fearless, they were going to protect me, keep me safe... They were never meant to be a woman."

Ah, finally.

"Alice," I spoke quietly. "It's okay to be with someone of the same sex."

"How can you say that?" Her angered voice reached me as she pulled away from me slightly. "We both come from a time when that was frowned upon."

"Even so, the times have changed Alice. Plus you would be foolish not to think that this was happening in your time, this has been happening since man was born. It's not something that you choose Alice, it chooses you, and there is nothing wrong with it... It's just love, plain and simple."

"I cannot believe that you're okay with this, you of all people."

"What's that supposed to mean Alice? I spent almost a century with newborn vampires, they never cared who they were mating with just that they were, but do not mistake me here, I am not comparing you to a newborn. It's just up to you. There is no reason Leah cannot be your everything despite what you've always wished for."

"I can't. I've imagined this my whole life. How they'd tower over me, wrap their arms around me, make me feel safe and secure for the first time in my life."

"Alice, anyone would tower over you," I tried to lighten the mood and it worked, a little. "Plus Leah's a werewolf... I think she'll have the whole protecting you and keeping you safe thing down."

"I don't know," she appeared to be calming down the more we talked and I was happy to find that she didn't seem to be feeling suicidal anymore, it was a huge relief.

"Tell me Alice, what happened when she imprinted on you? What did you feel?" I was hoping that she could at least admit that there was something there between the two.

"She... I..." she took a deep breath. "At first the smell of her engulfed me, it smelled awful. Her nostrils flared and I immediately went on the defense, I was ready to protect myself, but then something changed... It was like her eyes suddenly bore into my soul. She stopped snarling and calmed down... And then she ran."

"That's all details Alice, tell me what you felt. What did you feel when her whole demeanor changed? When she imprinted on you?"

"I... I..." she faltered. She was scared, unwilling to admit her true feelings. "I don't know," she finally settled on, she was feeling frustrated with herself.

"Maybe you need to see her again? This may not be as easy on her either. It's a lot to take in, but it's not something you should be killing yourself over. You hear me Alice. She is your mate, and if this is true, which I suspect it to be, then you will be happy with her and nothing else will matter."

"Like you and Bella?" She asked me. I didn't think Bella and I were the best examples, but I'd go with it for her.

"Yeah. You saw how much I fought it in the beginning. How I thought it was all or nothing. You just have to take it slow and everything will come naturally. Sure it won't be easy all the time, but in the end you'll still have each other because it's been fated."

I gauged her emotions and she seemed to be doing better. It was all settling in for her now. I think it was just the shock of it that pushed her off the deep end. It wasn't what she was expecting, but I had no doubt that all those fantasies she had of her future mate could come from a strong female werewolf and she would realize that soon enough. She quieted down and let go of me completely. I knew she was doing better, but I just had to make sure.

"No more self harm, or attempts of suicide, promise me."

"I promise you," I could hear the truth to her words.

I gave her another hug before standing up. She smiled at me softly before I left the room. I passed Esme at the bottom of the stairs and told her to go up and comfort Alice. She could use her mother in all this. I was almost out the back door when Carlisle approached me.

"I'm heading to the reservation?" His statement came out as a question.

"Why?" Why was everyone going over there? Surely they didn't miss Bella as much as me. I missed her every second, but I had held my ground and I hadn't visited her. The rest of the Cullen's, bar Esme and Rose, had visited her though.

"She needs some pain medication," Carlisle showed me the orange container of pills. I could have sworn Edward took her medication to her not that long ago.

"Fine, send Emmett back when you get there," he nodded his head before heading to the garage.

I made my way back outside. I was happy to see that the others were still training, good, we needed all the help we could get.

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><p><em>Bella's POV<em>

"So you're on board right?" I asked Emmett. He had waited in the woods behind the house until Sam left.

Once he returned he filled me in on everything he knew about Victoria, and Jasper's plan, and I filled him in on everything I had for my plan.

"Yes Bella, just let me know what you want on the day and I'll do it for you."

"Thanks Emmy," I jumped up and brought him into a hug. He hesitated before hugging me back. Jasper was right he was just like a big teddy bear.

"Emmett," Carlisle spoke. I pulled away from Emmett to see Carlisle standing next to Sue. "Jasper wants you back at the house."

"Okay," Emmett accepted and next thing he was gone.

"Here," Carlisle said handing me some pills, "I got you some more pain pills."

"Thanks." I didn't need them so I sat them on the table.

"So, what do you need from me?" He asked.

I sat down at the table, Carlisle opposite me, and I filled him in on everything to do with my plan. I finished and hated to find that he was frowning.

"So?" I prompted him when he didn't speak.

"I commend you for your compassion Bella, and you know that I agree with you, but," he paused. "But they're newborns. Newborns need a lot of care, a lifetime of guidance, that's why all my children are still with me. Yes, they leave at times but they always come back, because although they may not want to admit it, they need me. I am their father, these newborns will need that, someone to rely on."

"I'm sure Peter will do it, he has the experience."

"Bella, Peter, like Jasper, spent an eternity with blood savaged newborns. I know he would do this for you if you asked, but you cannot ask this of him. It's not fair to him, or Charlotte. They ran from that life." He was right, it was selfish of me to even think that he would take on a bunch of newborns.

"But it's not right Carlisle, they shouldn't have to die because of me." Could he not see that.

"Bella," he reached across the table and held my hand, "They are dead, they all died when Victoria took their lives. Letting them live may end up being worse than allowing them a quick death."

"I can see where you're coming from, but I still say that we try. I say that anyone who surrenders will be saved." Surely that would be allowed. I didn't like the fact that they were going to die, but I could see the sense in Carlisle's words. They were already dead, we were just ending their suffering.

"I can agree to that. Any who do not fight, or surrender to us completely, will be saved. You have my word. But you're my family Bella, you're everyone's family, and we are going to protect you first and foremost. We are fighting because of you, because we love you."

"I just hate this. I know war is necessary, but I don't like it. I just want Victoria to be dead. I want nothing more than James to become a distant memory. I just want to live my life... with Jasper."

"And you will," Carlisle smiled at me. "I've never told you this but I'm so proud of you Bella. When Jasper came into your life you weren't even there anymore, but now look at you. You are striving for the future, a future that was seemingly set in stone for you before you were faced with the unknown. Just remember that you are always welcome with my family Bella, and we will protect you with our lives."

"Thanks Carlisle," I blushed, embarrassed. I still couldn't understand how they all loved me so much. "Jasper has a lot to do with getting me better. I'll never be able to repay him, but I will try my hardest. He deserves to move on just as much as I do."

"I'm so glad you found each other," Carlisle smiled proudly at me.

"Me too," I agreed. I knew, without a doubt, that without Jasper I probably wouldn't even be here anymore. I owed him my life and I'd never forget that.

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><p><strong>AN- **We're getting closer to the fight, whoop, whoop. I think the next chapter will end just before the battle, but we'll see.

Review.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing guys, I really do appreciate them all.

Sorry it took a while, I've been extremely busy.

And it's also on the short side too, but I just wanted to get it out to you guys.

We're going to do something a little different first off, we're going to have some Leah pov to see how she's dealing with Alice being her mate.

Enjoy

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><p><em>Leah's POV<em>

Why did it have to be her? And a vampire at that? I didn't want to live my life with one of those blood suckers, hell I didn't even want to become a wolf, but it seems as though nothing I want matters. I had one small hope when making the change into a wolf. It was stupid and I knew it would never come true, but I held onto some hope anyway. I thought that maybe, just maybe, I'd make the change into a wolf and I would imprint on Sam. Yes, I knew that Sam was with Emily, and that they were happy, but still, I held onto hope. And now I go and imprint on that vampire... I didn't even know her name. I did however know that she had the ability to see the future, I read it in Sam's mind. A goddamn fucking seer. Had she seen our future together? Is that why she was visiting Bella on the reservation?

"Arrrggghhh!" I growled out in frustration. I had a million questions and the seer is the only one that would be able to answer them.

I didn't want to see her, not now, not ever. I would be happy if I never saw her ever again. She meant nothing to me.

"Leah." I knew it was Jake. Stupid wolf telepathy shit. I didn't want all those boys in my head and especially not about this. "Leah," he said again, in a sing-song fucking voice.

"What?" I hissed as I turned my head to look at him.

I was currently in the forest, crouched down, arms wrapped around my knees. I had been here ever since I left the seer.

"She's your imprint," Jake told me and I followed him with my eyes as he walked around to stand in front of me. I huffed, but didn't speak, and neither did Jake, we were staring each other down. I would never give in and he knew this. After god knows how long he let out a sigh. "It's okay to be with a vampire."

"Okay? Okay! It's okay to be with a vampire? Are you fucking serious? They are our mortal enemy. I only changed into a fucking wolf because they exist and now I'm destined to spend my whole fucking existence with her? The fucking seer?" Jake didn't speak up so I continued my rant. "How am I supposed to be in a relationship if she's always looking into our future? Nothing I do would be a surprise, she'd see it all coming. She'd see if we were going to fight and she would avoid it, she'd change the future to benefit her. There's no way to live with a seer. I will not allow her to sculpt my life due to her visions. I want to make mistakes. I want to fight. Does she even know what make-up sex is? Because I don't think she would."

"Leah." It still sounded like he was mocking me. "You only care that she's a seer," he stated, "That's the only thing holding you back."

"She's a fucking vampire." That was my fucking problem.

"Really? I think you're in denial." Was I allowed to throttle him yet? "You only care that she can see your future. Tell me that I'm wrong."

I let out a warning growl and he smirked at me, fucking jackass. He knew he was right, I knew he was right, deep fucking down, didn't mean I was going to admit it out loud. He'd be able to read it from my head in the future anyway. Stupid fucking wolf telepathy. I heard a stick snap and my head shot up. I saw Jake sniffing the air before he turned to face me, his face blank.

"Your mate is waiting for you at the treaty line," he told me trying not to smile, which let's face it was an impossible task for Jake.

I let out another growl, but even I couldn't deny the fucking pull I felt towards the treaty line, towards her. Jake smirked at me again before leaving me be. Great, just great. I headed for the treaty line, like I had a choice. I saw her and a part of me wanted to jump the fucking creek and fucking... fucking... I don't fucking know. There was nothing that I didn't want to do right now to her. Hug her. Kiss her. Fuck her. Fucking imprinting. But I wasn't going to do anything. I planted my feet, crossed my arms, stared her down, and waited for her to speak. I would never be the first one to speak.

"Leah?" She finally spoke and it came out as a question.

"Yes," I barked back. "And you are?" Somehow I didn't think that she'd appreciate me referring to her as the seer.

"Alice." Fuck even her name was sweet, just like her. Hell, what the fuck is all this shit. I waited again for her to speak. "We... Are..." She stuttered as I glared at her. "What are we going to do?"

"Fucked if I know," I relaxed a little and stopped glaring at her. Glaring would get me nowhere.

"Do you curse often?" She asked me and I was immediately taken aback. What the fuck kind of questions is that? She has the opportunity to ask me anything and that's what she settled on.

"Yes, ever since my fucking life went to shit over a year ago I've had no reason not to."

We were silent, again. I waited, again.

"Did you imprint on me?" She asked. Finally we were getting somewhere.

"It seems that I did." I told you that I was extremely stubborn and I wasn't going to willingly give her anything.

"And?" She prompted me.

"And what?" I bit back.

"Don't you have any questions for me?" She hissed at me.

Did I? Of course I did, and one of them was fairly fucking important. I didn't want to give in, but there was no way I was walking away from her without fucking knowing the answer.

"Can you see our future? My future?" I asked her. That's the only question I needed answered right now.

"No, I cannot see you at all," she frowned and somehow I knew that she was telling the truth.

"Good," I barked at her before turning around and running far away from her.

She may be my mate, but that didn't mean that I had to make this easy for her, or me for that matter.

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><p><em>Bella's POV<em>

Jasper had finally came back to me, it was about time too, but what I couldn't work out is why the hell he was wearing a really well fitting pair of black tights. Don't get me wrong, they looked extremely great on him, but I didn't know how useful his attire would be in a battle. I also wasn't objecting the fact that he was shirtless either. Whatever floats his boat.

"Like what you see?" He asked me as his eyes turned black and he stalked towards me.

I had felt like prey more than once in my lifetime and this was clearly one of those times, but this one felt different. This one felt good, really good.

"Y-yes, so hot," And he was, so, so hot.

He finally reached the bed and he crawled over to me, still stalking me. I allowed my legs to fall apart and no sooner did I instinctually do that, Jasper fell forward and pinned me to the bed. He began nuzzling my neck and my hands found themselves tangled in his hair. He began moving his hips and I could tell that he was enjoying himself. These tights he decided to wear, for whatever reason, really left nothing to the imagination. Hell, he may as well have been wearing nothing.

"Bella." Jasper spoke. I moaned back. "Bella?"

"Yes," I replied back as I opened my eyes that I had subconsciously closed due to the pleasure I was receiving. My eyes zeroed in on Jasper's, he was so close to me.

I glanced down his body. There was no tights, where the hell did the tights go? Oh no. Oh, no, no, no, no. It was a dream, it was all a dream, but Jasper was here, with me. I glanced back at his eyes and he was mirroring my confusion. My mind was slowly coming back to me and I suddenly remembered that Jasper could feel my emotions and I was having a fairly heated dream, I had no doubt that he felt that.

"It was about you," I informed him. I knew if it was the other way around that is the first thing I would want to know.

"Good to know," he smirked at me, "But the battle is nearing."

"Oh," I replied dumbly when the thoughts of James and Victoria came rushing back to me. "How much time do we have?"

"A little while, why?" He was still smirking.

"Because I missed you," I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to me, kissing him gently. He allowed me to set the pace and although it was frustrating that he wasn't taking charge I admired him for being careful with me. I eventually pulled back and he was still smirking at me, time to turn the tables. "Jasper?"

I waited for him to reply.

"Hmm," he grunted softly back at me.

"Do you own a pair of tights?" He looked at me completely confused before answering.

"No, why?"

"Oh, no reason," I made sure I was not shielding him and I hit with as much lust as I could and the poor boy fell off his knees, on which he was perched, and fell onto his back onto the bed. I could not help the giggles that escaped me.

He quickly recovered and sat back up, before deciding to move onto a completely new topic, not that I minded. I figured that if he was smart enough to associate my lust for him with the concept of wearing tights sometime in the future then we were definitely on the right path. Because Jasper in tights was definitely something I wanted to see again, and in the flesh preferably.

"We need to head back to the Cullen's," he informed me.

Serious Jasper was back, I didn't really care, but I knew that I probably wouldn't see my playful Jasper again until after the fight, and then not for a long time after I told him that Maria was dead. I had told Jasper to remind me to tell him something after the fight, and that was it, that Maria was dead. I figured that with James and Victoria dead, and with Maria dead, then we could both start healing together. It'd be a great bonding time for us. But first we needed to make it through the impending fight and make it out alive.

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><p><strong>AN- **Sorry it's short, but just think of it as a little side chapter with an insight into Leah and Alice's relationship, with a little Bella/Jasper sweetness tacked on before the looming battle.

We'll be back in Jasper's head next chapter.

Review.


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N-**Thanks for reviewing, as always, it's really appreciated.

A few of you have been asking about Isabella and the Major, don't worry guys the Major and Isabella will be back in a few chapters and trust me it's going to be beyond epic, you're just going to have to wait for it. We may see the Major pop up before then though.

We're recapping a little bit in this chapter as I forgot to add this to the last chapter, but never mind, at least we get to see Jasper's side of the tights conversation, haha.

Enjoy

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><p><em>Jasper's POV<em>

We were currently in the backyard, again, training the Cullen's to fight the newborns. It was a long and tedious job, but I was glad to see that we were finally making some progress. I watched as Esme charged Peter, of course she would never win, but she was putting up one hell of a fight and it made me feel so proud. All of the Cullen's had actually improved a lot, which meant that I could worry less during the fight about them getting unnecessarily hurt and just be able to focus on the battle at hand. It was going to be a big relief and make the battle that much more of an easier win.

I kept watch over all the small power battles in front of me. In the back of my mind I had noticed Carlisle's confusion, but now it was getting worse and worse by the minute. It was almost bad enough to physically make me turn around to face the source, but I stood my ground and waited for him to come to me. Several minutes passed before Carlisle's indecisiveness finally settled down and it was replaced with purpose. I turned around and saw him striding towards me, determination coursing right through him. He stood in front of me and his confidence wavered slightly, being replaced with a small amount of nervousness, before he pushed that away letting the confidence once again wash over him.

"Jasper," he spoke before pausing, his nervousness was back again. "There's something I need to tell you." Another pause, he was waging a war in his mind. I stayed silent, waiting for him to make a decision. "It's about Bella."

"What about Bella?" I asked not wanting to jump to any unnecessary conclusions.

"She's planning on saving the newborns, as many as she can... I don't think it's right, and I think you'll agree with me," he still seemed unsure that he should be telling me this.

Of course Bella was planning something. It made no sense as to why almost every one of the Cullen's went over to the reservation in the past couple of days at her request. I admired her for attempting to come up with a plan, but I wouldn't allow her to save any of the newborns. They needed to die. Once you were turned just for war, well that's all that consumes you, and it is very hard to break that mindset.

"You're not going to... punish her, are you?" Carlisle asked me almost fearfully.

Fear? Why was he feeling fear? The Major was still locked up, he had nothing to fear, yet he did.

"Major?" Peter came into my view head cast downwards. "Maybe you should think about this."

Think about what? Why were they acting this way? My emotions were in check, I was in check.

"Think about what?" I asked noting that my voice was neutral, it held no malice. "You know who will be looking after the newborns if we allow Bella to succeed with her plan. You! Tell me that you want that."

"You know I wouldn't mind, but I'll admit that it would be easier to kill them now, but-"

"But what?" I cut him off, okay now there was anger in my voice.

He dropped his head again.

"Why not allow Bella to have her fun?" Peter asked. "She'll never forgive you if you undermine her like this."

Undermine here? Her plan went against everything we knew, everything we were taught, everything that was right. I couldn't allow anyone to survive, none of them. Bella might not realize it right now, but those saved newborns would be a constant reminder of what had happened to her, they'd never allow her to forget it, and I didn't want that for her. I would not allow this to happen.

"Okay," I kept my face neutral. If they all wanted to follow Bella's plan then I wouldn't stop them, it didn't mean that I had to follow it. "I need to speak with Alice, then I will go and get Bella." I turned my attention fully to Peter. "Peter run them through everything once again, make sure they are ready. I will see if Alice has a definite time for the attack, not just 'tomorrow'."

I left them be and made my way up to Alice's room. It unnerved me slightly that they had perceived me as the Major when I wasn't the Major. Maybe it was all due to the fact that the battle was looming, and all the training I was aiding with. Maybe I was just slipping back into what I used to be without realizing it. I physically shook myself, just willing myself to be Jasper for the time being. I made my way into my old room and was thankful to find that Alice wasn't in the fetal position. She had not been dealing well with the news of her new mate at all and I hated that I hadn't been there for her due to all the preparing I was doing, but I could be here for her now, for a little while at least.

"Alice," I spoke softly as I sat down on the bed next to her and placed my hand on her knee. "Talk to me."

"It sucks," she breathed out before allowing me to feel everything that she was feeling, anger being the main emotion there. "I met her at the treaty line three days ago and I thought we were making progress. I've been back to the treaty line five times and she hasn't even showed up. How is she supposed to be my mate when she doesn't even want me?"

"Alice," I let out a sigh before grabbing her hand within my own. "You must seek her out. Go to the reservation, the wolves will not touch you because you are her mate, whether or not she wishes to admit that, but after the battle please, I need you present."

"I don't think I can fight," she told me eying me carefully, "Sorry."

"Okay," I accepted. I had allowed for this, in a way she was doing me a favor. Alice still owned a piece of my heart and she would be a huge distraction during the battle. I could feel her confusion at me easy acceptance. "Have you narrowed down the time at least? Just saying tomorrow gives us twenty-four hours to work with."

I watched as she closed her eyes and looked into the future.

"Noon," she told me, eyes still closed.

"And you're sure?" I had to ask her. If we knew the exact time then that would be a huge advantage for us.

"Yes, taking myself out of the battle has seemed to clear it up," she opened her eyes.

"Do we win?" I just had to ask her and she nodded her head. "What of Bella's plan to save the newborns?"

"Just follow your instincts and do not worry about Peter's threat that Bella would never forgive you, she'd forgive you for anything, trust me on that."

"Okay." And I would. Alice had never steered me wrong before. I stood up. "Seek her out Alice, the sooner you get this sorted out the better. Do not worry about attending the fight and if you can stay on the reservation during the battle, it would ease my mind to know that you were under the protection of the wolves and not all alone in this house."

"I'll try," she accepted.

I leant forward and planted a kiss on her forehead before running off, suddenly desperate to have Bella in my arms once again. I ran straight there, jumping over the treaty line as if it didn't even apply to me anymore, but I was still on the lookout for the wolves. I was almost to the Clearwater's house when I was hit with a fairly big shot of Bella's lust, what was she up to? I was suddenly at the house and I silently made my way inside. I nodded to Leah who was seated on the couch, she returned it with a calculated glare, but I could feel her respect for me, maybe Bella had been talking to her, telling her all about the Cullen's, all about Alice, I could only hope.

I made my way into the room Charlie had been in and was happy to see my Bella asleep on the bed, alone, sheets tangled all around her body. Her lust enveloping me like a nice warm hug. I made my way over to her and sat down carefully on the bed, I did not want to disturb her, not yet anyway. I reached forward and moved a piece of stray hair off her face and back behind her ear. I smiled as she let out a breathy moan and rubbed her legs together. I wondered what she was dreaming about, who she was dreaming about. I hoped that it was me.

"So hot," she breathed out as her lips parted a little.

I couldn't take it anymore. I carefully straddled her, keeping my weight off her completely, and settled my arms either side of her, bringing my face down so it was only inches from hers. I savored her scent, allowing it to envelop me completely, my eyes turning black before I whispered in her ear.

"Bella," I spoke quietly, blowing into her ear, she let out a moan. The Major was definitely enjoying this and I suddenly wished that I wasn't wearing jeans right now as they were becoming unbelievable tight. "Bella?" I tried to rouse her from her sleep again.

"Yes," Bella purred back, her brown eyes focusing on my black ones. We were only about an inch apart now and I wanted nothing more than to push my weight down onto her and do unspeakable things, but I wouldn't, not yet. I would allow her to lead us, I needed to let her lead us.

I smirked as Bella lifted her head and glanced down my body, finally settling on a frown. She was feeling disappointment and then confusion. I took her emotion on board and allowed myself to mirror it back to her. She stared at me, obviously thinking about the dream and the present, then I could feel a small flash of embarrassment before she covered it back up.

"It was about you," She informed me.

"Good to know," I smirked at her. It really was good knowing that my suspicions had been confirmed, however I needed to get this conversation back on track, "But the battle is nearing."

"Oh," she replied and I felt a small dose of fear and courage from her. "How much time do we have?"

"A little while, why?" I smirked at her. I knew what I wanted to do right now, but would she be willing?

"Because I missed you." Yes, she was definitely willing. She grabbed my shirt and pulled me to her, kissing me gently. I allowed her to set the pace even though I could feel her frustration. I wasn't going to overwhelm her and she seemed to realize this as I felt her admiration for me as well. She pulled back and I was still smirking, she caught my smirk and suddenly became mischievous. "Jasper?" She asked me playfully.

"Hmm," I grunted back softly.

"Do you own a pair of tights?" Tights? What the hell did she mean by that?

"No, why?" I reluctantly pulled back from her and settled on my knees. I needed to see where she was going with this.

"Oh, no reason," she replied before I was hit with the most lust I had ever accounted and that was saying something. I was caught so off guard that I fell back onto my back, suddenly thankful that we were on the bed. I was angry at her for catching me off guard, but I couldn't stay mad when I heard her giggling. She had only laughed a few times and now she was giggling, she felt so free. I would not reprimand her this time.

I got up quickly and sat down this time instead of kneeling. I could feel her lust again and she was eyeing me appreciatively. I still couldn't understand how tights, I'm assuming me in tights, equaled to her lust. Wouldn't she prefer me out of the tights, not in them? Now was clearly not the time to figure this out.

"We need to head back to the Cullen's," I informed her, getting back to business. With the battle being at noon tomorrow we had less than twenty-four hours to be completely ready.

"Okay," Bella accepted getting up from the bed. "Just let me write Charlie a note and let Leah know that I'm going."

"Leah," I said, suddenly jumping up, "Maybe I should talk to her."

"Oh yeah," Bella said as she ran a brush through her hair, "How is Alice dealing with all that? I haven't seen her since it happened."

"You saw it happen?" I asked her, I had a feeling that she may have but I wanted it confirmed. "What happened?"

"Not much, they stared at each other, intensely. First I thought they just wanted to kill each other so I shielded Alice from Leah but then when I pulled my shield back it all changed, they were still staring at each other but it was less hostile, and then Leah just ran off."

"Hmm, I'm going to go talk to her," I moved to the door but Bella grabbed my hand, I turned to face her.

"What about Alice? Leah's been sulking around here for days."

"About the same I assume. She's having trouble accepting it. I talked to her before I came here so hopefully they'll work it out soon. I'm just going to talk to Leah though, see where she's at, convince her that Alice is not a bad person."

"Okay," Bella accepted leaning up to place a quick kiss on my lips. "I'll meet you by the back door, take your time."

I loved this new side of Bella, not afraid to take what she wanted, not afraid to kiss me anymore. I was loving it. It still sucked that I couldn't just grab her right now and show her what a real kiss felt like, but I could wait, a little while. At least until after Victoria was dead and we had moved past this. I smirked at her, it was the least I could do. I knew she loved my smirk, as every time I used it I was rewarded with her lust. Yes, just like clockwork, I absolutely loved her lust, so innocent, so pure. I walked out the door before I found myself pushing Bella up against it and having my way with her.

I saw that Leah was still on the couch and I didn't hesitate to go over to her and sit down across from her. She eyed me skeptically and shifted slightly. I could tell that she was getting ready to run.

"Leah," I tried to keep my voice even, I did not need to piss this wolf off. She stayed silent, but she was not running. "I don't know if you know this but Alice and I used to date... For a good forty years." I could feel her shock and surprise, good she was listening to me. "Technically we were together longer than that, but they are details that she'll have to share with you. Anyway what I'm getting at is that if anyone knows Alice it's me. She's the sweetest person I know, she waited for me for a long time as she knew I was destined for a better life. I owe her a lot, without her I would be all alone."

I paused allowing her to speak if she wished, I had a feeling she wouldn't though, and she didn't.

"Just give her a chance, okay? I don't know your side of this story and I know you're not entirely what Alice has wished for, but I think you'll be good for her, and I know that she'll be good to anyone who opens up their heart to her. Take me and Alice for example, we were together for so long and although it never worked out, as we weren't mated, we're still close friends. We would do anything for one another. Just whatever you do, be kind to her, let her down now if you cannot be with her because Alice doesn't deserve anything but to be surrounded by those who love her."

I gave her a smile and then stood to leave.

"And don't worry about the whole vampire/wolf thing," I added as an afterthought. "If you are mated with Alice then you will always have a place amongst us, your family too if they ever wish."

I joined Bella at the backdoor and was happy to find that Leah's emotions had seemed to improve after out talk. Hopefully Alice would seek her out soon and they'd be able to work through some of their differences and move onto the future.

"You ready?" Bella asked me as she held out her hand for me.

"Sure," I responded taking her hand in my own. "You want to run back?" I asked her.

"No," she replied pulling me through the forest at the back of the Clearwater's house. I frowned and projected my confusion. "When we get back it's going to be battle this, battle that, I just want to spend a little extra time with you alone before the fight. I missed you Jasper, so much."

"Well I missed you too. How are you dealing with everything? Any more breakdowns?"

"A couple, but I'm doing good. I just can't wait until that bitch Victoria is dead, then I'll be able to move past this all."

"Don't worry Bella," I promised her as I pulled her hand up to my lips and kissed the back of it, "We'll kill her. After tomorrow afternoon you'll have nothing to fear anymore."

"I hope so."

"I know so." Even though I could never be one hundred per cent sure, surely we would at least have a breather after Victoria died. A time in which Bella could heal fully. Trouble would probably find us again though, but we weren't going to go looking for it.

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><p><strong>AN- **The fight is up next. Review if you can.

**I hope you enjoyed reading this story so far and if you did I'd just like to let you know that I've recently published my first novel as an eBook and would be greatly appreciative if you could check it out at, l****ink is on my profile page. Thank you for your support in advance, it really means a lot to me.**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N- **I know it's been forever and I do apologize, but then again I did write a book in my absence, so it's all good in my mind :)

**Disclaimer- **I don't own Twilight.

And here it is, the battle you've all been waiting for. I had been dreading writing this, but I found my inspiration.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

Alice had just left for the reservation and I was watching on as the Cullen's did some last minute fight preparation before the battle. We had less than two hours before we knew that Victoria would be in the field, so we were making sure we were as prepared as we could be. I stood on the back porch, just observing them. The Cullen's had definitely improved greatly. Even without my gift and Peter and Charlotte's fighting abilities, we'd still have a chance. This fight was going to be easy, I had no doubt about that. The only factor that bothered me was Bella and her plan to save the newborns.

I watched as Bella walked a big circle around everyone fighting. She was simply observing them all. I could feel wonder and amazement from her, but she was also planning something. I'd let her have her fun, but Bree would be the only enemy vampire who made it out today and she would only survive because she was Edward's mate. Bella paused and watched Peter and Emmett fight. I took my attention off her and focused on Esme, our weakest link, as she went up against Rose. Esme was holding her own, which was good.

I felt a shock of pain and my head shot up. Bella. I looked on in shock as she was in a battle stance against Peter. I was down the steps and onto the grass in no time. They weren't fighting, but they were circling each other. I was close, so close to Bella, but she extended her shield and pushed me backwards. I stood up quickly and stared at her.

"Let me in!" I warned her, but I don't think she could hear me.

She looked at me though. She seemed so confident, like she knew what she was doing, and then she smiled at me before turning her attention back to Peter. I tried to push past her shield, but it was no use. She didn't want me to interfere, so I couldn't. I watched on in horror as Peter nodded his head and crouched down in attack mode. No! This couldn't be happening. I kept my face neutral, I wouldn't allow my family to see how much this angered me. I just had to trust Bella, I just had to trust Peter. He knew what would happen if he hurt Bella, I'd kill him.

I stalked back and forth along the 'wall' as I watched them helplessly. I saw Bella nod her head and next thing I know Peter charges her. I clenched my hands into fists. I didn't like to feel helpless. My mate was all alone against a fearsome vampire, against my Captain. I watched on as Peter got closer and closer. My fingernails dug into the palms of my hands and venom began running out freely. He was almost at her now and I saw Bella close her eyes before opening them again, and I just stood there shocked. An invisible wall came up and Peter ran right into it, falling backwards. Bella had extended her shield into something physical. It was the first time I had witnessed it. It was amazing. I calmed down slightly, but not for long.

Peter finally came to a stop and he stood up. His eyes were now black and he had a murderous expression on his face that I knew all too well. No! He was going to kill Bella, I just knew it. I hit against the shield, but nothing happened. I turned my attention to Bella and she seemed normal, she didn't look scared at all, no, she just looked confident. Smug even. Peter didn't charge her this time, he was sizing her up. He knew that you never attacked first, you just waited for them, but when Bella didn't even move, not an inch, he got impatient and charged her once again.

He was trying to act like a newborn, changing his moves up every chance he got. I looked on as Bella put up another wall, but Peter was ready for it this time and dodged it before getting closer and closer to Bella. Bella threw another wall out there, but Peter slid right underneath it. He was now a lunge away from Bella and he knew this. His face was still twisted in anger. He made one final leap. It was too quick for Bella to react, she was only human after all. He was going to kill her, I just knew it. He was almost on her when Bella retracted the shield keeping me and the other vampires out, and placed it back around herself where it belonged.

Peter hit her shield and crumpled to the ground. I was on him straightaway, restraining him. I growled at him menacingly and he went limp in my grip. I picked him up and threw him as far as I could into the forest before turning my attention to Bella. How could she do this? Why did she always act so reckless? She still had her shield in place, but I reached through it easily. I was feeling anger towards her and I allowed it to be projected. I'd like to see her talk her way out of this one.

"Explain," I growled at her.

She dropped her shield immediately and her head rose to meet mine. She wasn't afraid, she should be.

"Aside from you, who is your most skilled fighter here?" Bella asked me confidently.

"Peter," I answered without missing a beat.

"Exactly." Bella was feeling pleased now. "I just went one on one with Peter and I held my own Jasper. I will be fighting in this fight, using my gift, and you can't stop me."

She turned and walked away. I looked after her confused. She was right, of course, but I couldn't risk her that way. If she were to fight she would become more vulnerable, more likely to lose her focus, and if she lost her focus, she would die. I would not allow her to die.

_Let me out. Let me handle this._ The Major spoke to me. I brushed him off. I wouldn't allow him to take responsibility of Bella. No, if she died then it would be on my head and my head only. _Fine, _the Major accepted unwillingly, _but let us do this together, side by side. We'll be stronger that way, unstoppable_. He was right, of course. Two heads were always better than one. I allowed him to come forward and stand beside me. We were equals in this fight.

It didn't take the Major long before he straightened our posture and squared our shoulders. _So? What now? _I asked him. _Now we march into battle, our heads held high, and we do everything we can to protect the ones we care about. We do not waver, we do not run. We stay and we fight, no matter the cost, because what we are fighting for is worth it. Bella is worth it. She is our mate and she deserves her revenge, her justice, she deserves to move on. So we will help her no matter the cost._

I squared my shoulders for myself and I stood forward. All eyes were on me. I commanded their presence. "It's time," I told them and they looked fearful. Now was the most important time in battle. You never just go off into battle and fight, no, you've got to explain your reasons first. You have to fire up your army, get them focused on the goal. Give them no doubt that you will be victorious, even if the odds are against you. I felt Peter rejoin my side and Charlotte came and stood on my other side. The Cullen's and Bella stepped forward and stood in front of us.

"We go into battle today because one of our members is under attack. Bella may be new to our family, but that doesn't change how we feel about her. We will protect her because that's what she deserves. We must remember that she was wronged by Victoria, that Victoria is the reason that Bella is dying." That statement brought forward gasps, I had forgotten that the majority of the vampires here didn't know about Bella's sickness. I pressed forward. "Bella has been robbed of her future, but we can change that. We can change it today by fighting her demons alongside her and killing them forever. Today we bury everything, and we come out the other side ready to move on. We will not be scared, we will not run and hide. We will stand strong, side by side, united by our love for Bella, and we will be victorious!"

The Cullen's erupted in a cheer. Good, they were definitely on board. I turned my attention to Bella's emotions, she was feeling happy, she was also feeling pride towards me. I smiled at her slightly before covering it up. We needed to head out. I turned to Peter and Charlotte and they bowed their heads.

"Colorado, 1927," I told them and I could feel that Peter wanted to object, but he didn't dare. "Let's go."

"What's the plan?" Carlisle asked as we headed towards the forest. Bella was by my side, hand firmly planted in mine.

"You do what I say!" I turned around and spat at him. "That goes for all of you," I warned them.

I headed to river and picked Bella up, being careful of her broken arm, and placing her on my back. I took a couple of steps back and jumped over the river before taking off to the clearing that Alice had seen. I didn't stop until I got there and when the others had caught up I pulled Bella off my back and brought her into my arms.

"Bella," I said as I traced her cheek with my fingertips. "Whatever happens know that I love you and that I believe in you." She nodded her head in acceptance, leaning into my palm. "Time?" I snapped as I stepped away from Bella.

"Ten minutes 'til noon," Peter informed me.

"Bella stand here," I placed her where I wanted her. "Use your shield to protect yourself and the others, but I want you to protect yourself first and foremost." She nodded in acceptance.

"Carlisle, Esme," I barked at them as I walked behind Bella, they followed. "Stand here, protect Bella at all costs."

"Rose and Emmett." Their heads shot up. "We will have a wave coming from the left. Your job is to try and stop them all from getting past you. If some get through, leave them be." I walked over to the left and positioned them where I wanted them.

"Peter, Charlotte, take the front group. This group will have Victoria and her second in command. Kill the second and incapacitate Victoria, but do not kill her." They nodded and took their places.

"Edward," I spoke and he looked at me warily. "You stand by Bella, do not leave her side for anything and I mean anything."

"Major," Peter spoke, head cast downwards. "A word?"

"Speak!" I turned my attention to him.

"You may have the issues of, umm, mates."

Did he think I was stupid? Of course I had thought of Edward's mate. I knew what I was doing.

"Do what I tell you," I growled at him and he returned back to his position.

I walked ahead of them and looked back at the formation. It looked good, solid. I positioned myself in front of everyone, they would reach me first. I was equal distance between Peter and Charlotte and Rose and Emmett. We've got this. I closed my eyes and focused.

I could feel the bloodlust of the newborns in the distance. I pulled my shirt off and stood there proudly. I would be the first thing they saw and possibly the last. I kept my eyes closed, taking on their bloodlust, taking on their fury and confusion. I let it overtake me before I cut them off completely and opened up my eyes. It was time. It was finally time for me to protect my mate, for me to help her get her justice.

Victoria led the attack, stupid. I was about to jump on top of her before Bella extended her shield and threw her through the forest. I could go after her, but I knew that she would return. She wanted to kill Bella more than anything else. Without James she was dead. And then the two groups were on us. The first guy came into my reach and I dodged him easily, before ripping his head off. Next it was two on one, no problem. They soon got the same fate. Then I had a group surrounding me, six newborns. I smiled at this and let out a laugh, this would be fun.

I allowed them to close in on me before I jumped up into the air and landed behind them. They were confused, but when their eyes landed back on me they regained their purpose. One by one they rushed me and I fought them all off. Every now and then one would land a bite, but I was used to it now. The pain didn't affect me, no, it only fueled me on. They were no match for me. I was the God of War. I was undefeated and newborns were my specialty. I would beat them and I did.

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><p><strong>BPOV<strong>

I watched on as Jasper tore his shirt off and went into battle mode before I turned my attention to Edward.

"Follow my lead," I told him and he nodded his head.

I moved silently and confidently closer and closer to Rose and Emmett. When I saw Victoria charge Jasper I pushed out my shield and sent her flying. I was not ready to face her just yet, no, I had a job to do first. As soon as the newborns came at Jasper I ran to Rose's side.

"Remember the plan," I told Emmett and he nodded his head. Good.

The second wave of newborns finally hit us, there was about ten in the group, this would be easy. I started to extend my shield. I needed to block them all, so that we could figure out which ones needed to be saved. I stretched my shield over them, but it wouldn't stick. I groaned in frustration. Why wouldn't it stick? Why couldn't I shield them? They were getting closer and closer by the second. I looked over at Jasper fighting two newborns and he looked magnificent, so strong, so regal. I drew from his obvious strength before turning back to our group of newborns. I extended my shield once again and this time it surrounded the newborns. They stopped immediately and looked around confused.

"Now Edward," I prompted him as I let one newborn out of the shield. Edward focused in on its thoughts. "Nothing," Edward told me cautiously.

I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Kill him," I announced to Emmett and Rose, and they did, and we were left with nine.

I unshielded the next one and Edward read its mind.

"Possibly," Edward said not sure at all.

We couldn't have possibilities. I let out a groan this time and re-shielded the newborn and unshielded the next. Bad mistake. Edward was by my side one instant and gone the next. Newborn vampire firmly underneath his arm as he ran into the forest, never looking back. It had to be his mate, Bree. Jasper would not be pleased that he left my side.

I squared my shoulders and walked towards the group. I'd have to do this myself.

"Bella," Carlisle started, but I waved him off. If he tried to stop me I'd just put up my shield and he knew this.

I walked right up to the shield and after looking over at Jasper, seeing him engaged in battle with five newborns, I stepped through the shield and all eyes were on me. Eight pairs of red eyes, just staring at me. They caught my scent and they began snapping, growling. Their looks turned dark once again and they stumbled to their feet. I looked at them all and I felt sadness. They were turned just for war, they didn't know any better, they didn't know me. Why should they have to suffer? Why should they have to die? They shouldn't.

"Calm yourselves down," I spoke with conviction, but they didn't listen. They would get one chance and one chance only.

I allowed another newborn out of the influence of my shield and asked them clearly if they wanted to surrender, they didn't, and as he charged me I pushed him off to my family. They could deal with him.

"No!" I heard Jasper's pained scream and I turned and looked at him. He was looking at me and he had a huge slash right down his chest. How dare they hurt him? He was my mate.

My concentration dropped and then they were all on me. My shield no longer held up. I locked eyes with Jasper and he looked so devastated. I was aware of my family running in and fighting off the ravenous vampires. I was aware of Jasper disposing of the last of his newborns as he let out a growl and then he lunged for me. I managed to get my shield up before too much damage could happen. I did have a wound down my side, but I couldn't feel it, it was numb. All I could feel was Jasper's emotions. His anger, he was crazed. He fought off all the newborns and stood by my side, ready to protect me.

I was aware of Peter and Charlotte coming over to join the fight and then I saw her. Victoria. She was stalking me, unknowingly getting closer and closer with the confusion of battle, but I saw her. I blocked Jasper and when he turned to fight a newborn I broke free and stalked away from the group towards Victoria. She needed to die, she would die. We got closer and closer and when she was close enough for my human ears to hear her she spoke.

"Isabella, today you will die, finally. I never liked you and you're the reason James is dead."

I kept quiet. I owed her nothing.

She stalked closer and closer. I kept my shield around me. She wouldn't be able to break through even if she tried. She got right on top of me, but I didn't flinch, I didn't waver. She didn't scare me, not anymore, not now that James was dead. She couldn't hurt me now. My family would protect me. My mate would protect me. I wasn't the reason James was dead. I wasn't the reason I knew about vampires. None of this was my fault and I realized that fully now. Renee died because James wanted something that belonged to her, he wanted me, and that was not my fault.

She swiped at me, but my shield did its job. She couldn't penetrate it. I let her try time and time again, but then I got bored and extended it, knocking her on her back, before using it to shield her in a bubble. I stalked her this time. She looked scared, she knew this was it. She had given up. I still said nothing. I would not give her the satisfaction. I pushed a strong dose of need out and Jasper was by my side in an instant. Shirt off, covered in fresh bites and a severe chest wound. I grabbed his hand in mine and met his eyes. He stared back, just as intently, and then I let go of his hand and walked away. I heard him growl as I pulled my shield away from Victoria and then I heard the sounds of a vampire being ripped apart. I didn't turn around. I didn't need to see her die. I knew Jasper would make sure she didn't survive. I wanted the last vision she had of me to be one of me and my magnificent mate. Not one where I was scared and helpless. She'd she that I had moved on, that Jasper was now my life and that Jasper was her death.

I walked back over to my family. Peter and Charlotte were throwing pieces of vampire into a fire. Esme tried to bring me into a hug, but I stepped away from her. I didn't need comfort. I was no longer weak. I was ready to move on. James and Victoria were dead. They couldn't hurt me anymore. They were dead. I watched on as Jasper threw Victoria in the fire, everything but her head. He picked up her head and our eyes met. He thrust her head forward, up in the air, he was presenting it to me. I smiled proudly at him. I loved him so much. He puffed out his chest before throwing her head on the fire and watching her burn.

I looked away and focused on my family. They all looked disheveled, but they were fine. No one had any major injuries, except Jasper it seemed.

"Bella," Carlisle spoke calmly, "you're side." I looked down at my slashed ribs, it wasn't bleeding that much, I'd be fine. "Let me help you," Carlisle said taking a step towards me.

"No," I growled at him taking a step away. No. I was fine.

I heard Jasper let out a growl as well and he was in front of me in an instant. I reached out and touched his chest, it was beginning to heal. I assured myself he would be fine. I looked him over, looking for other injuries. I could count three bite marks, they looked as though they hurt, but he seemed fine. I smiled at that, three new bite marks. Three marks to show his love for me. I could feel him assessing my wound, it really didn't hurt. He poked it and I closed my eyes, okay so maybe it did hurt a little bit. I covered up my pain once again, but I knew that Jasper would have felt it.

"Come," he commanded as he helped me onto his back. I knew better than to resist.

He ran straight for the Cullen's and went straight up to his room, placing me on the bed. He was on top of me in an instant. He ripped my shirt off and began licking my wound clean. I shifted underneath him. Why did this feel so good? So right? He cleaned it slowly, thoroughly, and by the time he was done I was shaking. He looked up at me, smirk in place. I looked at him, noting that his chest wound had all but healed, but his bite marks were still festering venom. I pushed his shoulders and he allowed me. I got out from underneath him and pushed him on his back before straddling him. He looked up at me confused, but he wasn't complaining.

I didn't hesitate before I bent down and began sucking the venom out of the bite on his right shoulder. He protested immediately, but I kept on sucking and he soon gave up. When all I could taste was his venom I stopped and moved onto the next bite on his arm and did the same thing. I sucked out all the offending venom until all that was left was his. He grunted out when I had finished that one. The venom still burned, it still tasted bad, but it was different this time around. I was not being forced to ingest this venom, no, I was doing it on my own free will. I was making my mate feel better, easing his pain the only way I knew how. I was not helpless.

I moved down to the last bite on his inner hip. I pulled his jeans down slightly to get better access before I bent down and latched on. I sucked as hard as I could, wanting to get to his venom. His venom still tasted bad, but I liked knowing that it was inside me. My arm was resting over his lap and I could feel him stirring. I looked up mid suck and he was staring at me. He projected his lust to me and I felt him grow, I smirked at him. Jasper let out a groan as his head fell back against the bed. Soon the venom had gone and all that was left was Jasper's. The wound began to heal, but I wasn't done, not yet.

I stalked forward until I was resting on him completely. I knew I wasn't ready to give myself to him fully yet, but I could do this for him instead. He opened his eyes when he could feel my breath on his face. I reached down and grabbed his hand within my own. I sucked his fingers in my mouth, allowing him to submit them to me fully. He did, and when I knew it, I removed them from my mouth. Before he could process what I was doing, I used his fingernails to cut his neck and then I cut my own. He tried to resist the call of my blood, but I didn't allow him. I dropped his hand back onto the bed, it had served its purpose, before I latched onto the wound on this neck and pulled his head onto mine.

He tried to resist. He fought it, but as I began sucking at his venom, he gave in. He latched onto my neck and began drinking my blood. It was even better than when the Major did it, I noted. Jasper was being careful, but he was pulling at my blood strongly. I matched his draw, sucking out his venom just as fast. It wasn't long before I was done. Venom didn't taste as good to me as my blood tasted to Jasper I suspect. I pulled away and l licked his wound clean. He took a few more pulls before doing the same. I pulled away and looked him in the eyes. He seemed conflicted, but that quickly shifted.

"I love you so fucking much," Jasper whispered.

"And I love you," I told him for the first time even though he already knew I felt this way about him.

He let his emotions free and I could feel everything. The love he felt towards me was incomparable and it overwhelmed me, but I didn't let it show. I wanted to bask in his feelings towards me, dreaming of a day when I'd feel the exact same intensity. I leaned forward and captured his lips with my own. It quickly got heated and I allowed it. I dropped down slightly, never breaking the kiss, so that our pelvises were lined up perfectly. It didn't take Jasper long to take a hint and he began grinding against me. I ground my hips back, taking note of his groans of pleasure. It wasn't long before he came and when he did I stilled my movements.

He tried to keep it going. I suspect he wanted me to finish as well, but I wasn't going to allow it. I did this for Jasper. He needed release, I could tell. I was fine with waiting until I felt ready. Jasper must have sense that I wasn't quite ready yet because he stopped trying to engage me and brought me into his arms instead. I smiled into his chest. He was so perfect. I was so happy in this moment, Victoria was dead, and I was in the arms of my mate. I knew that life couldn't get any more perfect.

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><p><strong>AN- **Please review with your thoughts, we've still got a long way to go even though Victoria's dead, so definitely... to be continued.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N- **Thanks for taking the time to review, much appreciated.

Enjoy.

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><p>Bella's POV<p>

He was just too perfect. I loved that he automatically knew how I felt without me having to spell it out for him, without me having to even voice it. I reached up and pulled his head back to mine, I couldn't get enough of him. This kiss became heated, of course, and I could feel him hardening underneath me once again. I had a brief thought, would it always be this intense between us? Would I never be able to get my fill of him? I hoped so. Knowing that I had forever with Jasper was the best feeling. I was almost happy with James kidnapping me, knowing that suffering under him led me to Jasper, well it seemed fated. Plus with James and Victoria now dead, I had nothing to worry about.

Jasper pulled back and I looked into his dark eyes. We were both still shirtless, just eyeing each other carefully, both knowing where we wanted to take this, but both knowing I wasn't ready, not yet. I knew I loved Jasper without a doubt, but I wasn't willing to give myself up to him fully just yet. I was afraid. Not with measuring up to his past lovers, no, that wasn't even on my mind. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to give myself over fully. I had always done everything myself and then when I was captured I shut myself off, I didn't allow myself to feel, to trust. I was slowly getting better and I had a feeling it would all be uphill from here, but I was not ready just yet and Jasper thankfully realized this.

I was just about to pull Jasper's lips back to mine when someone burst in through the door. I didn't see who it was because Jasper blocked me from view before letting out a murderous growl. I felt his body become tense above me and I could feel him getting ready to attack whoever it was. I wanted to tell Jasper to use his words, but I knew it would be no use, so I spoke up myself.

"If you're smart you'd leave," I told whoever was at the door calmly. "We're fine, I'm fine, everything is fine." Nothing changed. "I said leave us!" I growled out and after a beat I finally heard the door close. Jasper however had not calmed down. He was still staring at the door, still stiff, still ready to attack.

"Jasper," I spoke as I stroked his hair, he didn't calm down. "Major," I tried again, he flinched, but he didn't back down. I let out a sigh. I could feel the strength and fierceness within me and I could tell that Isabella was waiting in the wings to put Jasper in his place. I could feel her there, but she wasn't talking. I allowed her to come forward, but not to take over. I allowed her to stand by me. As soon as she was free she flexed the fingers that we're in Jasper's hair before grabbing a hold and pulling hard, that got Jasper's attention.

His head whipped around and now I was the sole focus of his rage. His face was twisted in anger, his eyes were alive with blackness. _He looks beautiful_, Isabella rejoiced as we looked at him and I had to agree. It was just like seeing Jasper in battle, he was so majestic. One look at him and all his scars and you could tell that he was tough, that he'd protect me no matter what. It was the most secure I'd ever felt in my whole life and all from a vampire, one of the fiercest creatures, the god of war. Jasper, my Jasper.

He was still staring at me, anger still in place, when Isabella decided to smirk. He let out another growl, it was even louder than the last if possible. Next thing I know I am in his arms and his head is buried in my neck. I could feel his teeth against my pulse point and I knew that he wanted to bite me so badly, but he held off.

"Do it," I breathed out.

"No," he responded, "you are mine, all mine, forever."

"I know, do it," I told him and he finally gave in, breaking my skin once again and drinking my blood.

_Venom, we need more venom_, Isabella informed me. Why? It tasted horrible. _Yes, but it's his venom and we're already dying from the bitch Victoria's venom, so why not have some of Jasper's as well? _I found I couldn't argue with that logic. I grabbed Jasper hand from around me and used his fingernail to slice his neck back open. He let out a hiss, but he didn't stop sucking my blood. I leaned forward and brought his neck to my mouth, sucking in his venom. It still tasted like shit, but I could tell that this was right. It made me feel better. I liked having him in me. I liked knowing that when I died it wouldn't be solely because of that bitch. It'd be because of Jasper, because of me and my choices.

I could feel my body becoming weak and I knew that I would have to stop Jasper somehow, but I had no idea how. Thankfully Isabella stood up before it was too late. We stopped sucking his venom and the wound began closing almost immediately.

"Step down, Major, or I'll have your balls," Isabella whispered in his ear. She sounded so serious that even I shook in fear.

The Major detached and pulled back to look at us. He still looked angry. His eyes were red, he had blood dripping down his chin, pooled in his mouth, covering his teeth. He was still beautiful. He must have caught my emotions because his face finally calmed down and a dopey smile replaced it instead. He looked like he was drugged up. He looked so happy. I wanted to kiss him again, but I hated the smell of blood. I grabbed my torn shirt off the bed next to us and began wiping him clean whilst rubbing my hand through his hair. Once he was clean he leaned down and closed my wound with his venom, getting more blood on him, which I wiped off as well.

I was cleaning off the last of the blood and still rubbing his scalp. His smile was still in place and he began purring contently. He was so beautiful.

"You really believe that don't you?" Jasper asked me, eyes still closed. He had stopped purring, but I could still feel the vibrations in his chest.

"Yes," I breathed out. "You are the most beautiful person I know, vampires included in that. You may not agree. You may think you are scarred, and you are, but I am too. We are both scarred, but that's why we're so good together."

"I wanna fuck you so bad right now," Jasper let out a groan of frustration.

I immediately put up my shield to surround the whole room, we did not need anymore interruptions, not when Jasper was back in control. Plus I'd rather this conversation stayed private.

"Soon," I reassured him as I place my hand on his cheek and he leaned into it. "You can feel my lust and desire, you know I want you just as bad, but not yet. I'm still broken, split in half." He let out a laugh at that, probably thinking of himself and the Major. "One day I will be whole again and I will be ready to give myself to you for now and forever."

"I'm very impatient," he grunted and I could tell this was the Major. I wondered if they were side by side right now just like Isabella and I were.

"Is he with you right now?" I asked and Jasper nodded his head. He scowled a little at this fact, but I could tell that he was handling it better. "Good," I told him, "Isabella is with me also."

I could see his face change instantly.

"Isabella," the Major cooed, "now we can finally have our first kiss."

It wasn't a question, but I knew he was giving me a choice.

Go for it, I told Isabella and she took charge.

I don't know how it happened, but we were no longer on the bed. The Major was now pressing me up against the wall, picture frames went flying, he didn't care, and then his lips were on mine. I reminded myself to step back and allow Isabella to be in charge. I knew that they needed this just as much as Jasper and I did. There was so much passion in the kiss that I felt overwhelmed, but I allowed Isabella to continue. Isabella ran our hands down the Major's back and I longed for the day we would be one once again, and furthermore for the day that Jasper and the Major were one also. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it.

I felt the Major's hands cupping my breasts and I let out a groan. I knew that Jasper was respecting my boundaries, but was the Major? It didn't matter because the Major forced me back into the wall and it cracked. He pulled out of the kiss immediately and I tried to catch my breath. He looked at me confused, guilty even. I pushed Isabella aside and place my hand on his cheek. The Major kissed my palm before nuzzling it and purring. I was pretty sure he was asking for my forgiveness, he never needed it as there was nothing to forgive.

I pulled my shield back as the Major continued purring, but as soon as he heard it retract he stopped.

"Bella," he spoke to me. "A pleasure, as always."

"And you," I agreed, not willing to call him the Major out loud, sure he was known as that in my mind, but I still didn't think he should have a name that was merely a title. He seem to catch onto this and frowned.

"Jasper wants to be fully in control again," he whispered to me, "but promise me something?" I nodded my head. "Keep on going how you're going." I frowned at his cryptic answer, but I had a feeling I knew what he was talking about.

"I will," I answered surely as I leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss, pulling back before he could even try to deepen it. He nodded curtly to me and then he retreated.

"You know," Jasper said as he turned me around and made sure I had no injuries from the Major pushing me back into the wall. "Seeing as you kissed the Major, does that mean I get to kiss Isabella sometime?"

I turned back around and faced him.

"No," I answered simply, smiling at him. I grabbed the hooded green sweatshirt off his desk and threw it on.

Jasper followed my lead and pulled out a t-shirt and put it on. I smiled at him.

"What?" he asked me confused.

"You're not hiding your scars," I answered proudly and he looked down at his bare forearms.

"No, I'm not," he said with a frown.

"Come on," I told him as I grabbed his hands in mine and led him to the door.

"Ah, Bella," Jasper stopped just before the door. I turned to face him. What the hell was his problem? He looked embarrassed. "I kinda have a situation," he said motioning towards his pants. What? I didn't see anything. "Bella," he groaned clearly not wanting to spell it out for me. "I have jizz in my pants."

Jizz in my pants. I laughed and I laughed hard. That has got to be the funniest thing he's ever said. Jasper was not amused with my laughter it seemed, but that didn't stop me. Jasper took this as the perfect opportunity to change his pants. He walked over to his chest of drawers and I watched him with my eyes, still laughing. He grabbed out some jeans before shucking his boots and pulling down his soiled jeans. He was standing right there, in front of me, in his boxer briefs. I finally stopped laughing. He turned his back to me before pulling down his underwear.

He wasn't in a rush it seemed because I got a good eyeful of his butt, his beautiful butt. It looked firm, strong, muscular, tanned. It was mouthwatering. I had to check that I wasn't drooling. And then he pulls his new pair of jeans on without putting any underwear on. He was going commando? Oh fuck me. He knew what he was doing too because as he turned around he had the biggest fucking smirk on his face. Little fucker.

"Let's go," he said once he was in front of me once again. He grabbed my hand in his own before he pulled me out the door. Once we hit the stairs I dropped a step behind him just so that I could see that perfect behind once again and take satisfaction in the fact that there was nothing but Jasper underneath that thin layer of denim. I heard him let out a chuckle and I snapped out of it. "Remember, beautiful, if you play with fire you're gonna get burnt."

I smiled at that. I loved that he didn't put me on a pedestal. I liked that he didn't try to please me every damn second. He was always just himself. He wanted nothing from me. He was just there for me, always. We hit the bottom of the stairs and Jasper lifted me down the last step before placing me on the ground, he had a big smile in place.

"You can feel it, can't you?" I questioned him.

"You're happy. You feel free, no longer burdened by the past," he spoke quietly and confidentially. I loved that he understood. "I'm so glad, Bella. I'm so glad I could kill that bitch for you. I would kill anyone for you, remember that. Always, Bella, always."

"Thank you, Jasper, for saving me, for everything. Thank you."

"No need for that darlin', I'm just doing what's right."

Fuck. Why the hell did he even have to exist? Every second that passed I could feel my love for him grow. It seemed too big, too grand, like I shouldn't be feeling this way about him. I was only human, I couldn't feel the mate pull, well I shouldn't be able to feel the mate pull, but I knew it was there. Right where my heart beats is my tie to Jasper and it's so strong, growing every second. _Maybe it's the vampire venom you've been snacking on,_ Isabella informed me, and I was glad to see that after taking Jasper's venom the thought of Victoria force feeding me didn't seem as important now. It was great.

We walked into the kitchen, hand in hand, and everyone was there except Edward and Alice. We had only just got in the door when three angry vampires stood in front of us, Peter, Charlotte, and Rose. Well I'll admit that Peter didn't entirely look angry.

"You claimed her?" Rose asked, trying to keep her anger in check, it wasn't working.

"I didn't claim her," Jasper said with a roll of the eyes before bypassing the three and taking a seat at the table, pulling me onto his lap. I rested my head against his chest.

"She smells like you," Rose accused, but I was glad to see that Peter and Charlotte had backed down.

"I have had Bella's blood."

"No," Rose cut him off, "I said _she_ smells like you, not the other way around, and your eyes are red, Jasper, so I think we all know you drank her blood."

I could feel Jasper's guilt, so I shielded us and looked up at him.

"Don't," is all I told him. "I wanted it just as much as you did." He nodded his head in acceptance. "Let me tell them." Another nod, good he agreed. I pulled the shield back and all eyes were on me. "I consumed some of Jasper's venom."

There were a lot of gasps and a lot of open mouths. Carlisle was the first to recover.

"But, Bella, the venom," he said concerned.

"What's the big deal?" I asked him. "I'm dying anyway thanks to that bitch, so why can't I take Jasper's venom if I want to?"

I put it out as a question, but no one answered it.

"Will someone please give me a fucking status report and stay the fuck out of my personal life."

I could tell Esme wanted to admonish Jasper for swearing, but she smartly stayed silent.

"Everyone died, Major. Char and I caught a few trying to escape, but we killed them."

They killed them? Why?

"Good," Jasper spoke. I wanted to argue with him, tell him that no, it wasn't good, but instead I allowed him to feel how I felt about it and let out a small growl instead. He just gripped me tighter in response.

"The only one to survive is what we're all assuming is Edward's mate. He caught sight of her and ran off."

Now it was Jasper's turn to growl and I could feel his anger pouring off him. I guess he was pissed that Edward ignored his direct order to protect me in favor of his mate. I watched on as Peter and Charlotte moved back a couple of steps and dropped their heads. The rest of the Cullen's followed suit after looking at me helplessly. I shielded Jasper once again and moved forward so that I could look into his face.

"He abandoned you," Jasper spat out.

"He did," I agreed, "but it was his mate, Jasper."

"I do not care who it was. It was a direct order. I can kill him for this."

"No, you can't."

"What if you had died or had been seriously injured?"

"But I'm fine, everyone is fine."

"Luckily."

"Look, Jasper, he's got his mate now and that means he'll get the fuck off the I-love-Bella train and move the fuck along."

He let out a huff, but he knew I was right. I unshielded us.

"Someone get Alice from the Reservation, I want her back here right now," Jasper barked out and Charlotte took on the task. "I don't know if you've looked for Edward yet, but someone do a run and see if they can find him. I want him back here with his mate as soon as possible. If you don't find him in the immediate area then return and we will wait for him to return himself. Go! Now!"

Peter, Carlisle and Esme jumped up and were out the door which only left us with Emmett and Rose who looked at use warily before leaving too.

And then we just sat there. I rested my head back on Jasper's chest and ran my hand through his hair once again, whilst his hands played idly with the hem of the sweatshirt and my skin just underneath. We didn't speak, we just enjoyed each other's company, surrounded in contentment until the others eventually returned.

Alice came back with a brooding Leah who stood in the doorway, nervously looking around everywhere, clearly not wanting to be here at all. I waved at her and she silently nodded her head in return, and then the others returned without Edward. I wasn't fazed. I would actually be happy if he stayed gone for a little while longer, but I hated seeing Carlisle and Esme looking distraught.

"Alice, good," Jasper barked out. "Look into the future and see if there's anything regarding the Volturi."

The Volturi? I stiffened in Jasper's arms and he shot me a dose of calm.

"I can't," Alice said as she looked at Leah. "The wolves block my gift." And then she smiled, good, I was glad she was happy. If she accepted Leah, and my dad married Sue, well then we'd become step sisters or some shit and I knew she would love that.

"Bella shield Leah." Now it was my turn to get barked at apparently.

"No," I told him firmly. I wasn't going to do anything if that's the way he asked.

I removed my head off his chest and challenged his glare. He projected his frustration to me, so I in turn projected as much 'I don't give a shit' back at him and he seemed to soften slightly.

"My beautiful darlin'," he started out and I wanted to smack him for that, but I would later, now was not the time, "would you please shield Leah so that Alice can look into our future."

I huffed in reply. Without breaking eye contact I extended my shield and placed it around Leah.

"Alice," Jasper spoke, still looking into my, what I hoped were, fierce eyes. "Look into the future and see if we have any run ins with the Volturi."

"You do, but you needn't worry because Bella has a plan," Peter spoke and Jasper's head whipped around to face him.

"The Volturi know about Bella?" he asked almost fearfully.

Peter closed his eyes before replying, "not yet, but soon. We have some time, Bella has a plan that will work, and it doesn't happen until after she tells you what she has to tell you. Just calm down, brother, everything will work out fine."

"I don't even know where to fucking begin," Jasper was beginning to get riled up again. "What plan, Bella?"

"Just a plan I've been working on at the Res, don't worry I'll tell you soon enough." I could see he was about to flip his lid again so I tried pushing out all my love and calmness to help him settle down and it seemed to work.

"And this thing you have to tell me?"

I looked at Peter and he nodded his head. I then looked into Jasper's eyes as I pulled Leah out of my shield and placed it around Jasper and I. I was looking into his eyes for the Major, the Major had said I needed to tell Jasper this, tell Jasper that Maria was dead. Once he knew we could start moving forward together. We would no longer be held back by our past. I saw Jasper's head nod slightly, but I knew that was my cue. I took a deep breath and spoke.

"Jasper," I started carefully, nervously. "You know Maria?" I stupidly asked.

"Maria? How do you know Maria? I don't remember telling you." His anger rising. "Did the Major tell you? That was my story to tell."

"He only told me her name and he didn't do it on purpose. He said that I couldn't compare my two years with James to your time with Maria because you were stuck with her for a century."

"He said that to you?" he asked calming down slightly. "Because I don't think that."

"I know," I breathed out trying to build up the courage for the next bit. "When he drank my blood-"

"He drank your blood?" Jasper asked as he stood up and set me on the table and stepped away from me. Oh crap. "Please tell me I heard wrong."

I decided not to back pedal and explain the Major's actions, I just needed to get this all out.

"He only took enough to gain his strength to free us from that hole, he didn't take enough to change his eyes. He told me about the last time he took over and you had red eyes. Do you remember?" I asked and he stopped and looked at me. Good, he remembered. "The Major told me that he let you take back control near the Cullen house and you had no idea what had happened. Well I know."

"No, no, no!" he roared out. "Do not tell me, please, please, please." He looked so broken, but this needed to be done.

"I do not know all the details, but that week the Major, your Captain, and the Lieutenant went on a mission. They went on a mission to find Maria and to kill her, they were successful."

"Maria- Maria's dead?" he faltered. "She's dead?" he asked me yet again.

"Yes, Jasper."

He seemed to be processing it and he was projecting, but his emotions were going by too fast for me to catch them. And then he finally settled. His eyes turned black, I was engulfed in anger and revenge. I noticed that he didn't square his shoulders so I could tell that this was all Jasper, the Major was nowhere to be seen. I stupidly got off the table and took a step towards him.

"Leave me, Bella. If you take one more step I will not hesitate to hurt you. I'll re-break your arm, don't try me."

I stopped in my tracks.

"Tell me what you're thinking Jasper, what you're feeling."

He let out a maniacal laugh.

"You don't want to know. Now let me out of this shield."

"No," I said firmly, standing my ground.

"Let me out," his anger rose once again. "Don't you get it, Bella, she's dead, Maria is dead, and they killed her. I have to kill them, I need to kill them. Maria was my sire, I have to avenge her, I need to avenge her. She deserves that."

Oh crap. I looked over at Peter, he seemed to be none the wiser, I guess I was shielding his gift. This was going to end badly. I had to try one more time, but I knew that he was unreachable.

"Is there anything I can say or do to change your mind?" I asked him and he laughed again.

"No!" he screamed at me.

I let out a sigh before keeping my shield around him and stepping out of it. Everyone's eyes were on me as Jasper began pacing.

"The Major?" Carlisle questioned and I shook my head.

"Nope, Jasper." And I noticed that Peter and Charlotte's faces paled. "You two need to get out of here right now and run as fast as you can. I won't be able to hold him much longer."

"What's going on?" Charlotte asked.

"Stockholm syndrome," I told them sadly, "he's seeking revenge against those that killed Maria." Their faces paled even more. "Now you run and you run fast. And when the time comes, you'll know Peter, trust your gift, call me and we'll figure this out, but right now you need to run."

They nodded in acceptance before they disappeared. I went to go back into the shield, but Carlisle stopped me with a pained, "Bella."

"Don't worry," I told him confidently, "he won't hurt me."

I took a deep breath and re-joined my mate. He stopped pacing and looked at me.

"You know I can break free of this shield don't you?" I had a fair idea that he could. "Let me tell you this, Bella, I like the chase, I love it, crave it. They may be running, but they won't get far. I'll catch them and I will kill them. Are you going to let me go yet?"

"Almost," I told him as I dropped my head. I looked up again and met his eyes, "Let me tell you something first. I know you're in there Major and I know you will be fighting to stop this. Jasper, I understand why you want to do this, I do. I loved James, I knew it was wrong, but I loved him anyway and there was a time I would have avenged him, but I couldn't exactly take out my revenge on a oil tanker. And lastly, I will find a way to stop you and you will come back to me, no matter the damage done I will still love you and accept you."

"Are you done yet?" he snarled at me and I knew it was time. If I didn't let him out now then not only was I in danger, but so were the Cullen's.

"I love you my mate," I told him as I let him out of the shield and then he was gone and I prayed that Peter and Charlotte were smarter than him and I prayed that I would find a solution to bring my Jasper back to me soon, before any damage was done.

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><p><strong>AN- **Done, finally. Poor Jasper and Bella can't get a break, can they? But it makes for a good story.

Please review, it makes me write faster and I like hearing what you like about each chapter.

Also remember that I wrote a book, so if you're bored and want to read more from me then check it out. It doesn't have vampires in it , but it's still a good read and would mean so much to me. Link is on my profile page.


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N- **Thanks for taking the time to review, much appreciated.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>Recap<strong>

_"The Major told me about the last time he took over and you had red eyes. Do you remember?" I asked and he stopped and looked at me. Good, he remembered. "The Major told me that he let you take back control near the Cullen house and you had no idea what had happened. Well I know."_

_"No, no, no!" he roared out. "Do not tell me, please, please, please." He looked so broken, but this needed to be done._

_"I do not know all the details, but that week the Major, your Captain, and the Lieutenant went on a mission. They went on a mission to find Maria and to kill her, they were successful."_

_"Maria- Maria's dead?" he faltered. "She's dead?" he asked me yet again._

_"Yes, Jasper."_

_He seemed to be processing it and he was projecting, but his emotions were going by too fast for me to catch them. And then he finally settled. His eyes turned black, I was engulfed in anger and revenge. I noticed that he didn't square his shoulders so I could tell that this was all Jasper, the Major was nowhere to be seen. I stupidly got off the table and took a step towards him._

_"Leave me, Bella. If you take one more step I will not hesitate to hurt you. I'll re-break your arm, don't try me."_

_I stopped in my tracks._

_"Tell me what you're thinking Jasper, what you're feeling."_

_He let out a maniacal laugh. _

_"You don't want to know. Now let me out of this shield."_

_"No," I said firmly, standing my ground. _

_"Let me out," his anger rose once again. "Don't you get it, Bella, she's dead, Maria is dead, and they killed her. I have to kill them, I need to kill them. Maria was my sire, I have to avenge her, I need to avenge her. She deserves that."_

_Oh crap. I looked over at Peter, he seemed to be none the wiser, I guess I was shielding his gift. This was going to end badly. I had to try one more time, but I knew that he was unreachable._

_"Is there anything I can say or do to change your mind?" I asked him and he laughed again._

_"No!" he screamed at me._

_I let out a sigh before keeping my shield around him and stepping out of it. Everyone's eyes were on me as Jasper began pacing._

_"The Major?" Carlisle questioned and I shook my head._

_"Nope, Jasper." And I noticed that Peter and Charlotte's faces paled. "You two need to get out of here right now and run as fast as you can. I won't be able to hold him much longer."_

_"What's going on?" Charlotte asked._

_"Stockholm syndrome," I told them sadly, "he's seeking revenge against those that killed Maria." Their faces paled even more. "Now you run and you run fast. And when the time comes, you'll know Peter, trust your gift, call me and we'll figure this out, but right now you need to run."_

_They nodded in acceptance before they disappeared. I went to go back into the shield, but Carlisle stopped me with a pained, "Bella."_

_"Don't worry," I told him confidently, "he won't hurt me."_

_I took a deep breath and re-joined my mate. He stopped pacing and looked at me._

_"You know I can break free of this shield don't you?" I had a fair idea that he could. "Let me tell you this, Bella, I like the chase, I love it, crave it. They may be running, but they won't get far. I'll catch them and I will kill them. Are you going to let me go yet?"_

_"Almost," I told him as I dropped my head. I looked up again and met his eyes, "Let me tell you something first. I know you're in there Major and I know you will be fighting to stop this. Jasper, I understand why you want to do this, I do. I loved James, I knew it was wrong, but I loved him anyway and there was a time I would have avenged him, but I couldn't exactly take out my revenge on a oil tanker. And lastly, I will find a way to stop you and you will come back to me, no matter the damage done I will still love you and accept you."_

_"Are you done yet?" he snarled at me and I knew it was time. If I didn't let him out now then not only was I in danger, but so were the Cullen's._

_"I love you my mate," I told him as I let him out of the shield and then he was gone and I prayed that Peter and Charlotte were smarter than him and I prayed that I would find a solution to bring my Jasper back to me soon, before any damage was done. _

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><p><strong>Bella's POV<strong>

"Bella," Carlisle spoke.

"Not now," I told him focusing back on Isabella.

_We need to remind Jasper of his past. We need to remind him of how awful Maria was to him, how awful Maria was all together. We need to save Peter and Charlotte. We've got to think._

Yes, I know, but what do we do. I know he will listen to us, I do, but we need to do something in the meantime.

_Call Peter. Get him to run through the South with Jasper on his tail. Maybe something will trigger in him. In the meantime we should grab a flight to Texas because this hole in our chest, these feelings we're feeling, well they're only going to get worse until Jasper's back by our side._

You're right.

_Let's go and bring our Jasper back to us. We can do it, I know we can. I just hope we can do it before it's too late._

Me too, I agreed before turning my attention back to reality, back to everyone in the room. They were all looking at me shocked and concerned. I would fix this, I had to fix this.

"Alice, phone," I barked and she handed it over before going over to Leah's side. I pulled up her contacts and found Peter's number under, _mind fucker_, and hit dial.

"Bella, finally," Peter spoke and he seemed out of breath. "I can see some of your plan and it looks promising, fill me in, so we can fix this."

"Run through the south, anywhere you think Jasper will remember his time with Maria, we need to knock some sense into him. Think of the most important place in Jasper's past and text Rose the location. I'm taking the first flight to Texas and I'll be there soon. Whatever you do, just keep ahead of him Peter. Bye."

I hung up the phone and turned my attention to back to the group.

"Rose, you're coming with me," I announced and she nodded her head in acceptance.

I ran up to Jasper's bedroom and packed a small bag before meeting Rosalie.

"Bella," Carlisle spoke, voice full of concern. "Do you know what you're doing?" he asked me carefully.

I shrugged my shoulders in response. A plan would come to me, I just knew it.

"Jasper is my mate and I will save him from himself," I told everyone in the room before heading to the garage. Rose followed me.

We got in her car and I noticed all the Cullen's standing there, all looking sad, all looking helpless. Carlisle was comforting an inconsolable Esme. Emmett only had eyes for his mate Rose, and they seemed to be communicating silently. Alice was looking at me fearfully with Leah brooding behind her. I waved at them. I would be fine, surely, and I would bring Jasper back home.

We headed for the airport in Seattle before boarding the plane for Texas. As we landed the heat hit me and it instantly reminded me of Phoenix and I smiled. James and Victoria were dead, and I was alive, more alive than I had ever been. Rose's phone beeped and it was a message from Peter, it held the co-ordinates we needed. Rose went to get us a rental car whilst I just waited, enjoying the heat. She came back and put the co-ordinates in the GPS before setting out. I noticed it was going to take awhile, so I took the time to get some rest.

I woke up just as we came to a stop and I was glad to feel refreshed. "Where are we?" I asked as I got out of the car.

"I don't know," Rose responded joining me. The sun had just set. "I don't know much about Jasper's past."

"Me either," I regrettably admitted. I wish I had asked him, but he had been so concerned with me and getting me better that there was never any time, but now it was time for me to help him.

I grabbed Rose's phone off her and did a search on the location. A lot of information came up, too much. I closed my eyes before typing in the Civil War. It narrowed the results, but I still needed more. I typed in Whitlock as well and just prayed and the phone brought forth results. I quickly read the article. _Major Jasper Whitlock, missing in action, presumed dead. _It seemed he went missing on his way back to Galveston after saving women and children from the enemy forces. This must be where Maria changed him I deduced.

"Get in the car and go," I told Rose sternly. She was about to protest, but I growled in warning at her. I sent a quick message to Peter to head this way before throwing the phone at Rose. "Go," I told her once again and she reluctantly got into the car and left.

I stood and I waited. I didn't know how far away Peter was, but I was glad he was heading this way. I rubbed my chest gently, the pull was there, but the pain was manageable. I still didn't know how I was going to convince Jasper to give up his fight and move on, but I knew that I had to try. I desperately wished I knew more about his past so that I could used that, but I'd just have to use his love for me instead. He would listen to me, I knew that much.

It wasn't long later when I noticed all the birds fly away from me. I guess they could sense the danger coming._ Are you ready? _Isabella asked me. If you're right here with me, then I'm ready, I replied. I could feel Isabella right there, so I knew that we would be fine. I saw Charlotte approaching first and I stood my ground. As she got closer I could see just how out of breath she was and how dirty her appearance was. She stopped just in front of me, looking around her cautiously.

"I don't have much time," she spoke to me quickly. "Peter told me to run ahead. He told me to warn you. Jasper, he's becoming savage. I've heard he was like this towards the end. He knew that Maria was going to kill him, so he planned to kill her, but he never would have went through with it. Maria made Jasper do all her dirty work, she made him change the humans and she made him kill the newborns. Use this, help him please."

She heard a noise and her head shot up.

"I've got to go," Charlotte said fearfully. "Be safe, Bella, please."

I nodded my head in response and then she was gone. I waited, again.

Peter broke through and he slowed down as he passed me, but he didn't stop.

"Head North," I told him. I knew that if the run through the South hadn't gotten to Jasper then no other location would, so we may as well head back to our reinforcements.

I kept my gaze on the tree line, I needed to be focused. As soon as I caught sight of Jasper I needed to shield him. It took longer than I expected, but he finally broke free and I extended my shield around him. He was running straight at me, full speed. I set up a wall and he ran straight into it. Whilst he was down I secured my shield around him more tightly, not allowing him to get up from the ground.

"Bella," Jasper gritted out.

I walked closer to him until I was standing over him. The first thing I noticed were his eyes, they looked crazed, like that of a newborn. I didn't speak, I just allowed him to vent his frustrations.

"Let me go!" he snapped. "I've got to kill them, they deserve to die."

I stayed silent, just staring him down.

"You can't do this to me. I am your mate, you need to listen to me."

I wanted to scoff at that, but I kept my face blank and kept a tight lock on my emotions.

"Let me go!" he repeated. "I allowed you to kill Victoria, now you need to allow me to do this." I stayed silent and he let out a frustrated growl.

Jasper seemed to get that I wasn't going to talk to him, not when he was acting like this and he slowly settled down, keeping his mouth shut. I stalked him, walking back and forward as he continued to calm down further, his eyes never left me. When he had given in almost completely I spoke.

"Do you recognize this place?" I asked him as I stopped and turned away from him. He didn't reply, so I continued. I softened my voice. "I knew you were a Major in the army, but I didn't really get it, you know. You were so young, but you were so talented. The youngest Major they ever had, it's impressive. I bet you were fierce on the battlefield, but you were also fair. You saved so many people that night, do you remember? You gave them safe passage, you made sure they were all safe."

I turned back around and looked at him. He seemed more calm, but I could tell he was still fighting it.

"You were heading back to Galveston that night, but you stopped didn't you. You saw a woman in need of help and you stopped to help her."

I watched his eyes carefully and I saw the recognition in them before he covered it up.

"She took advantage of you Jasper. She killed you. She turned you into a vampire."

"You don't know what happened that night," Jasper accused me, he was right.

"I know," I responded. "You never told me. I only know little bits and pieces from your life, yet I expect that you know everything about mine, but it doesn't matter as we're mates Jasper. Whether you like it or not we are in this for the long haul. Without me you die."

"So?" he scoffed. "Maria is dead."

"Are you serious?" I asked him confused. "James kidnapped me, he kept me in a basement for two years. He fed me raw coyote meat. He killed my mother. And through all this his mate despised me. Victoria hated me with such a passion that she force fed me venom, venom which is now slowly killing me, but do you know what? I never gave up, I never gave in. James was to turn me into a vampire and after my newborn years I was going to kill him and Victoria, but that wasn't needed. James died and you saved me from myself. I've been through hell and back, but now I'm finally free. They are dead and I can now move on, but I'm not moving on without you."

I looked at him closely, he seemed to be listening to me. Good.

"You saved me Jasper, let me save you," he didn't respond. "Maria imprisoned you Jasper, for a whole century. She didn't teach you how to survive only how to fight. She didn't care for you, only that you were a great asset for her. She sat back whilst you did all the dirty work. She made you kill humans and change them for the purpose of war and then she made you kill them when they became useless. She made you do everything even though she knew you could feel everything that they were feeling. She didn't care about you, but Peter and Charlotte did. They were your friends, they kept you grounded. You should be thankful that they killed her, now you no longer have to worry about her. She is gone forever."

"They killed Maria," he repeated, but it lacked conviction.

I had a theory and I decided to run with it.

"Did they?" I asked him and he looked at me confused. "Did they really kill her or did you? The Major was trying to protect you, but do you really think he would let them kill Maria when he could do it so easily himself?" I saw him thinking it through. "Ask him," I dared. "Bring him forth and ask him."

**JPOV**

I looked up at my Bella. She seemed so strong, so fierce. She was claiming that the Major killed Maria, not the Captain or the Lieutenant. Was she correct? Did the Major kill Maria? Did I kill Maria? Her story of James and Victoria struck a chord with me, she was right. And then she told me about Maria, how she knew some of these things I had no idea as I had not told her. She was right though, Maria put me through hell, she never cared about me.

"Ask the Major?" Bella repeated and I gave in.

"Did you kill her?" I asked him and he replied, _yes_. "Show me," I demanded him. He let out a sigh, but he dropped the barrier between our minds and I saw everything, not just that night, but everything Maria put me through, everything that the Major was trying to protect me from all these years.

The images ran through my mind and I caught all of them and they were all horrible. Thanks to my vampire memory I would never be able to forget this, it would be with me forever. Everything I had done, all those innocents I had killed. Every single one of their emotions that they felt when they died, I could feel it all, see it all. And then he showed me her death. Maria was standing there proudly, she had incapacitated Peter and Charlotte, she was trying to convince me to join her again, but the Major stayed strong. He played into her weaknesses and then he killed her. He killed her and burned her. I watched as Maria was no more and then I saw the Major piecing Peter and Charlotte back together again. Maria did that, she tried to kill my family.

I looked up at Bella again. Bella, my mate. She was so strong, so much stronger than me. I couldn't feel her emotions, but I could see the concern she had in her eyes for me.

"Let me feel you," I demanded and she looked at me for a long while before deciding.

She opened her floodgates and I was surrounded by her strong emotions. I noticed straightaway that they were no longer suffocating. They weren't a big black cloud of death, no they now held hope and not misplaced hope. Bella was working through her issues and she was becoming a better person for that. But most important, I could feel her concern for Peter and Charlotte, plus even stronger was her love and concern for me. She didn't want me to make a mistake that I would regret. She only told me of Maria's death so that I would no longer be burden by the past. So that we could move on together. She just wanted our future to be bright with nothing from the past to hold us back. I loved her so fucking much.

She locked her emotions back up and I allowed mine to flow free. I hit her with my love, not a concentrated dose either, I hit her with the whole lot. I saw her waver under just how much I loved her, but she took it on board willingly. I also sent her my gratitude for saving me from myself. And finally I sent her my regret for my behaviour and showed her that I had abandoned my quest for revenge. I would no longer kill anybody. I was the one who killed Maria anyway, so if I was to kill anyone it would have to be myself, and there was no way I was leaving Bella on this world by herself.

She dropped her shield and dropped to her knees beside me. I knelt to meet her.

"I'm so sorry," I told her sincerely.

"It's okay." Bella rested a hand on my cheek and I relished her warmth. "I'm just glad you came back to me, and that Peter and Charlotte are alive."

"They're never going to look at me the same way again," I admitted sadly. It wasn't the Major who went after them this time, no, it was me.

"It will take a while for them to trust you again, but they will," Bella assured me. "Give me your phone."

I reached into my pocket and handed it over. Bella sent off a text message before calling Rose.

"Bella, are you alright?" came Rose's frantic voice.

"I'm fine, Jasper's fine. Come back and pick us up. It's time to head home."

Bella hung up and I immediately brought her into a hug. "I love you so fucking much," I told her before kissing her. I only pulled back when I noted that she was out of breath.

"As I love you, my mate," she replied, pushing all the love she felt towards me and I thankful to feel that it was starting to rival my own. "Let's go home," she whispered to me, her hand still firmly on my cheek. "And we can begin to heal together."

I nodded my head in acceptance before pulling her in for another kiss.

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><p><strong>TBC<strong>

**A/N**- Review if you are able


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N- **Thank you for taking the time to review, it really means a lot to me.

Now it's time for Bella and Jasper to move past their demons. Plus we've got two newly mated couples, Alice and Leah, and Edward and Bree.

**Disclaimer- **I don't own Twilight, if I did Bella would have ended up with Jasper in some way or another.

Enjoy

* * *

><p><strong>BPOV<strong>

"You need to calm yourself," I told Jasper and he let out a grunt in return. "The battle is over, you don't need to act like the Major, not anymore."

"She's right," Rose agreed from the front seat.

Jasper huffed again.

"I can't just turn it off," he responded. "Plus I still need to deal with Edward."

"No, you don't."

"Edward was ordered not to leave your side during the battle and he did."

"Jasper, my mate," I pulled his head so that he was looking into my eyes. "I agree with you." Jasper's features softened momentarily until I continued. "But it was his mate. He left because he wanted to save his mate. If it was anyone else it would have been unacceptable, but you cannot punish him for saving his mate. Now forget about it."

"Fine," Jasper huffed once again, but I was just glad that this matter seemed to be settled. "I'm not looking after his mate though."

"What?" I asked him confused.

"His mate is a newbor-"

"Her name is Bree," I cut him off.

He let out a sigh. "Bree is a newborn," he corrected himself. "She's less than a year old. Edward is not equipped to deal with a newborn on his own."

"Maybe not," I agreed. "And with Peter and Charlotte away you may be the person with the most experience, but then you've got to think of Carlisle. He's successfully raised four newborns, so you're probably not even Edward's first choice."

Jasper tensed at that revelation, but didn't speak.

"And if you are asked, or if there comes a situation where you're needed then you'll help willingly because it's the right thing to do."

"Okay, what the hell happened to you Bella?" Rose whistled from the front seat. "I mean, I know you've never really been scared of Jasper, or taken any of his shit, but this is different. You're actually telling him what to do... I don't know."

"Do you want me to hurt her?" Jasper asked me and I frowned at him.

"No."

"Our relationship is complicated," Jasper told Rose, never taking his eyes off me. I thought he was going to continue, but he just stopped.

"Jasper respects my opinion," I told Rose, trying to explain it to her. "He's still channeling the Major right now and because of that he acts more... Impulsively." Jasper scoffed at my choice of words. "He knows he can always say no, but he knows that I'm right."

I caught Rose's eyes in the rearview mirror and she smiled proudly at me. I winked in return. Being kidnapped for two years may have hinder me in some ways, but there was one thing I knew for sure and that was my mate, Jasper. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his chest. I was physically drained. We were heading back home, to Forks. The past week we had been preparing for the battle against Victoria, and then we had the actual battle, then I had to chase Jasper across the country. I was officially exhausted and it didn't take long for me to fall asleep in the safety of my mate's arms.

We hit a bumpy road and I reluctantly woke up. I was so content right now. James and Victoria were dead. The demons of my past had been defeated. Sure I was still sick and I was going to die, but that didn't matter because Jasper had promised to change me. Looking into my future and seeing an eternity by his side was just more than I could have ever hoped for when James doomed me.

"What are you thinking about?" Jasper asked me curiously as I pushed away from him and stretched. I hit my plastered arm on the back of the seat, but managed not to make a noise. Jasper caught my flash of pain though, we'd deal with that later.

"You," I told him smiling. "How lucky I am to have you now and forever."

"I'm the lucky one," Jasper responded.

"Urgh," Rose shuddered from the front seat as she pulled up in front of the Cullen's. "Don't do that in front of me."

"Rosie," came Emmett's excited voice as he pulled the car door right off its hinges before picking up his mate and hugging her tightly.

"Urgh," I imitated Rose's voice the best that I could. "Don't do that in front of me."

She pulled away from Emmett and flipped me off. I definitely liked Rose.

"Emmy, I'm okay," Rose told him. "I missed you so much, baby."

"Urgh," Jasper said as he joined my side.

"Aren't you glad we don't have pet names for each other?" I asked him. I knew I was glad.

"Yes, muffin," Jasper replied and I started laughing.

"Muffin, muffin?" I questioned in between laughter. Yes, I was definitely glad we didn't have pet names, especially if Jasper thought that muffin was a good name.

"Oh, Jasper," Esme gushed as she came down the stairs, Carlisle at her side. "I'm so glad you're back." She brought him into a hug. He hesitated momentarily, but quickly gave in.

I could feel Jasper's regret and apologies, he was projecting. I noticed this is what he did when he wanted to express something that he couldn't come to voice out loud.

"It's okay, son," Carlisle told him proudly and I saw Jasper step back at that remark.

"How are Peter and Charlotte?" Esme asked him, but Jasper didn't respond. I decided to speak for him.

"Alive," I told them and the worry dropped from their faces. "They will be staying away for a while, but they will return. Speaking of, where is Alice?" I really needed her to buy me a phone without the others knowing.

"She's on the Reservation with her mate," Esme told me.

"She's been looking out for Charlie for you, but you really should see him soon. We told him you survived the battle, but he wants to see you for himself," Emmett informed me. "I think he thinks we secretly changed you into a vampire," he let out a laugh. I nodded my head in response.

"I will head there shortly. What about Edward and Bree?" I asked and Jasper let out a growl, but I just glared at him until he stopped.

"Edward made contact. He called us and told us that he will be returning shortly. He's having trouble dealing with Bree," Carlisle answered and Jasper had a smug look on his face.

I caught sight of Rose and I nodded my head at her. She understood me better than Jasper at times. She took my cue on board and smacked Jasper hard enough that he faltered on his feet.

"What the hell was that for?" Jasper asked her enraged. Rose just turned her attention to me.

"Jasper, language," Esme told him softly and he glared at her before looking at me expectantly.

"Are you coming to see Charlie with me or are you staying here to calm down?" I asked him and he looked at me confused.

"I want to see Charlie too," he answered.

"Okay, let's go," I held out my good hand and he grabbed it within his own.

We made it into the forest and as soon as we were out of earshot Jasper forcefully pinned me up against a tree before running his nose along my neck.

"Stop bossing me around," Jasper growled into my neck before pressing himself into me. Oh yeah, he was definitely turned on.

"Why?" I whispered back as I ran my hand down his back, resting it just above his ass. "It's just so much fun to do. Plus you're being a Major ass," I told him before giving his ass a hard squeeze and slipping out of his grasp.

"Bella," he spoke, I turned around. "I love you."

"I know," I responded. His eyes were pitch black and although he probably did need to hunt, I knew that they were black because of me. I would tease him for now. He knew I wasn't ready, not yet, but with every day that passed I was getting closer.

"Let's go see Charlie, then maybe we can have some fun on the way back." I opened my emotions up to him and sent him my lust. He fell into line straightaway. He pulled me onto his back and took off towards the reservation.

We walked into the Clearwater's house hand in hand. I looked up and saw Alice and Leah on the couch, they were laying in each other's arms. I smiled at that. It didn't last long because Alice jumped up and started examining Jasper, it was akin to what a mate would do after they were separated for a while, but I let it go. Alice was not a threat to me, but Leah didn't seem to have that same outlook.

"Get away from him!" Leah snapped as she jumped to her feet. "You're my mate, not his." She let out a growl and Alice automatically stepped back.

Jasper got a cocky look on his face before pulling Alice back into his embrace. Leah fumed, I rolled my eyes. If he wanted to challenge a werewolf I would allow him to. He could deal with the consequences. I had a sudden thought, perhaps this was the new Jasper. It wasn't the Major who sought revenge for Maria's death, it was Jasper. And now Jasper was acting strange, it wasn't that I minded it. It was odd definitely, but it was somehow a mash up of him and the Major, but not the best mash up it could be. I would leave it be for now.

I left them be and walked into the bedroom where Charlie was staying, he wasn't there. I frowned. I headed out of the house. I passed Jasper on the way and he still had a hold of Alice, he was just daring Leah to do something, but she was wisely staying put. I stepped down the front steps and looked around. I saw Sam and a group of young pups standing around him, I headed straight over to him.

"Bella," he let out a hiss.

"Sam, a pleasure as always."

"Good to see you're still breathing," he grunted out.

"For now," I teased him before changing tact. "Where's Charlie?"

"Beach," came his short reply.

I figured that was all I was going to get from him, so I left him be. I headed for the beach and it appeared that all the elders were there. It seemed as though they were performing some kind of ceremony. As I got closer it all became clearer. Charlie and Sue were standing together, hand in hand. They were getting married, or bonding, I didn't know what the tribe's equivalent to marriage was. As I walked closer I pushed out a large shot of panic, Jasper was by my side in an instant. He was angry, but once he realized I wasn't in any danger he calmed down. I nodded my head and he looked up and saw the ceremony. A smile came onto his face. I grabbed his hand and walked closer.

As I got closer they all stopped and faced me. Charlie's face paled and he looked at me concern. "Send him my love and acceptance," I told Jasper and he did this. Charlie smiled at me and everyone went back to the ceremony. I came a little closer so that I could hear, but stayed back so that Jasper wouldn't scare them off.

Once I stopped, Jasper wrapped his arms around me from behind and we just watched the ceremony contently. I knew what this meant. Charlie was officially a part of the tribe now. There would be no consequences for his knowledge of the vampires, not anymore. The Volturi couldn't kill him, not without a fight to the death from the wolves. Plus, as a bonus, he got to spend the rest of his life with Sue. I smiled. I was so glad that he was happy.

"That will be us one day," Jasper spoke his thoughts out loud by accident it seemed, but before he could cover it up I spoke.

"It will," I agreed as I grasped his hand tightly.

I could feel his love and happiness surround me, it was a nice feeling.

The ceremony finished, but we stayed where we were. It wasn't long before Charlie approached us, a worried look on his face. I allowed him to speak his part.

"Bella, I'm so glad you're okay. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I love Sue. This doesn't mean I forgotten Renee or anything like that."

"Charlie," I spoke, "Dad. I'm happy for you, trust me, and this wasn't a shock. I could see just how much you loved Sue. You belong here, dad, with Billy, Sue and the wolves. It's okay."

"But what about you, Bella?" He finally raised his concerns. "You can't live on the Reservation with me and I can't leave Sue by herself."

"Charlie," Jasper spoke quietly. "Bella always has a place in my family. She is welcome to live with us if that's what she pleases and you know that we will look out for her."

He nodded his head in acceptance.

"Hey," I said as I stepped forward and brought Charlie into a hug. "This isn't goodbye, you're with the wolves now. Plus aside from us, the two families are tied together forever now. Alice and Leah. There will come a time where we will merge, you know this, but for now we wait and we visit each other."

Charlie nodded his head in acceptance, but I could feel Jasper's confusion. I had a plan, a good one, but Jasper would not approve, so for now he would be kept in the dark. But it brought the Cullen's and the wolves together, which would work out well for all involved. Jasper was still fuming at my lack of response, so I turned to him.

"Soon, my mate," I promised him before turning back to Charlie. "Enjoy the rest of your day with Sue," I told him, "and remember I'm just a phone call away. Alice will give you the number once I get it."

"I love you, Bells," Charlie said bringing me in to a hug. "I'm so glad you're doing better."

"Me too, dad. I'll talk to you soon," I pulled away.

Jasper pulled me onto his back and I waved at Charlie with my good hand, then we were gone. I was so happy for Charlie and I allowed Jasper to feel this, he sent his happiness back to me. We were running through the forest, but Jasper suddenly stopped, pulling me from his back.

"What?" I asked him confused, he replied by hitting me back with my own lust from earlier. I watched as his eyes turned black. "What am I going to do with you?" I asked him. "I have a vampire for a mate."

"I can change you," Jasper spoke seriously.

"Not yet," I told him and he frowned. "I'm sixteen." He still didn't seem to understand. "You were changed when you were twenty... I would prefer to be closer in age to you," I smiled at him, he was still reserved. "Plus, the older I get the less chance there will be that l have to repeat high school over and over again."

"But," he tried to protest.

"But nothing," I replied. "Answer me this, have I held you back from anything with me still being a human?"

"No."

"Exactly." I sent him the lust he gave me back and he cocked an eyebrow at me. "I want to give you something," I told him, keeping up my lust. He eyed me carefully. "You've been good this past week, you deserve a reward, don't you think?" He didn't respond, but he nodded his head eagerly. "Do you trust me?" he agreed. "Will you do whatever I say with no arguing?" he nodded his head once again. Good.

I took a few steps back before charging Jasper, I dodged to his left, but he never moved. His concern and confusion hit me, but I kept on running.

"Catch me," I told him. "Catch me and receive your prize."

I heard him emit a low growl and then I heard him approaching. I ran faster before shielding myself completely, he wouldn't be able to hear me or smell me now. I jumped over a fallen down tree and stopped. Lying in wait, just out of view. Jasper approached full speed and as he jumped over the tree I extended my shield, throwing him away from me before taking off again.

Jasper was soon on my trail again. I kept on throwing up walls behind me, making him dodge them. I spun around once I hit the river. He was charging me again. I threw up another wall and he hit it. As he stumbled I threw out my shield, throwing him back into the forest before stalking him. I came across him lying on the ground, not moving. I approached him carefully. He had some scratches on his face and he was leaking venom. When I got close enough, Jasper jumped up and I fell back in fright. I managed to protect my broken arm, but my other arm got scratched up.

Jasper landed on me fully, hovering above me, before resting his weight on me fully. He felt my pain and his features immediately softened. I didn't allow him to calm down though. I grabbed his head and pulled his lips to meet mine. I kissed him fiercely, pouring everything I had into that once kiss. Jasper returned it with just as much passion. I pushed his shoulder and he allowed me to be on top. I broke the kiss and began licking the scratches on his face, lapping up his venom. It still tasted bad to me, but I relished that it wasn't just Victoria's venom killing me, not anymore.

Jasper's wounds closed up way too quickly for my liking, but I directed him to the small scratches on my arm and he licked up the blood greedily. I could feel his lust again and I reached down. I pushed my hand underneath his jeans and grabbed him tightly. Jasper lost control and his teeth extended, before I knew it he had latched on to my arm and he was drinking my blood. I pumped him a few times before pulling his jeans down, exposing him. I grabbed his free hand and used his fingernails to cut his neck before I latched on and lowered myself down onto him.

I was still wearing my jeans, but Jasper seemed to be relishing the rough feeling on him. I picked up my pace as we both sucked harder, taking as much of the other into us as we can. I could tell Jasper was close because he started grunting, but I was still off. Jasper sensed this and he hit me with all of his lust. As soon as he fell over the edge, I did as well. His mouth unlatched from my arm and he let out a loud growl. The wound on his neck closed and I licked it lovingly. I didn't call out, but he could clearly feel my emotions. Once he calmed down he licked my wound clean and closed it before holding me tightly and purring contentedly. I reached up and ran my hand through his hair. I opened up my emotions and allowed him to feel them all.

"I want her blood," I heard someone say and my head shot up to see Edward and a smaller vampire. Her eyes were red and she looked hungry.

Jasper pulled me to him and let out a warning growl.

I watched as Bree dropped down into a fighting stance. Edward tried to hold on to her, he tried to reason with her, but he didn't know what he was doing it seemed. I could feel Jasper trying to get me off him without hurting me, but I pushed him back down. I could handle Bree. I looked up at Edward, I was his singer after all and I could see that he was struggling also. I bent down and kissed Jasper once more before pulling my shield around me fully, cutting them all off from me, scent and all.

Jasper was the first to recover and he pulled me back down and buried his head in hair. Edward calmed down next and turned his attention to Bree. Bree was still in a fighting stance, but she looked confused. I saw her sniffing the air, trying to smell me, but she got nothing in return.

"I'm Bella," I told her and she eyed me warily. "Yes, the one you were told to kill, but you can't." She still looked crazed, but she was listening to me. "Only Jasper can bite me."

"Jasper bit you?" Edward's anger hit Jasper, but I responded before Jasper had a chance.

"You have your mate now, Edward," I warned him. "I understand that I am your singer and because of that I will try and shield my scent as often as I can, but everything else, the love, the lust, the longing you feel for me, it stops now. You have been warned. Any funny business and I will not hold Jasper back. Understand?"

Jasper glared at him and Edward nodded in agreement, but he didn't look happy about it. I wondered how he was dealing with a newborn as his mate, not well I suspected.

"Leave us be," I growled at Edward. "Bree," I softened my tone, "welcome to the family, I'll see you shortly."

It seemed as though Bree wanted to say something, but Edward pulled her away before she could speak.

"I really hope they bring out the best in each other," I sighed as I turned my attention back to Jasper.

"I really wish they hadn't interrupted us," Jasper countered.

"Well, we're alone now," I told him mischievously as I stood up. "Round two?" I asked him and I saw his eyes darken. "Give me ten seconds," I told him before running off into the forest. It was so much fun teasing him like this and I could only imagine how much fun it would be for real. When I was no longer breakable, when I was able to hurt him and him me only to be able to take care of each other's wounds. I was looking forward to it, but I could wait.

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><p><strong>AN- **I noticed that a lot of this story is Jasper POV, do you guys have a favorite POV you wish me to write in or do you really not care?

Review and tell me if you liked it or not


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing as always. I try and respond to all of them.

I'll put this here seeing as I don't have friends who share my interests, but Jackson Rathbone was on the episode of White Collar I watched the other day and damn he is fine isn't he, haha.

Those of you who reviewed expressed that you liked JPOV better, so we'll go back to that and just pull BPOV out if we need it.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"I have something special for you," I told Bella as I pulled her onto my back and headed towards the house.

"Really?" I could feel her confusion and reluctance.

"Don't worry," I assured her, "It's something that belongs to you anyway."

She was still confused, but thankfully she let the matter drop. Good.

I really wanted to surprise her.

We made it back to the house and I knew that we needed to get changed before we saw the rest of the family, so I scaled the side of the house, pushing my window open and placing Bella safely on the other side.

"We need to get clean," I informed her. I didn't know when the last time she showered was, but I knew it had been days for me and I was covered in dirt and grime.

"Umm, Jasper," she asked me quietly and I noticed that she shielded us. "Would you, umm, shower with me. It's just, this cast isn't waterproof and I can't clean my hair with one arm." I looked at her shocked. She was asking me to join her in the shower wasn't she? "You don't have to. I can do it myself," she started to get defensive.

"No, no," I quickly amended. "I'd love to help you. Grab everything you need and I'll take it to the bathroom."

Once we hit the bathroom across the hall I helped her get undressed, keeping my eyes on her face. After our fun in the forest I wanted this to be just about helping her. She needed someone to help care for her whilst she was injured and I was happy to have that job. I turned the water on and quickly got rid of my own clothes, everything except my boxers. They were white, so as soon as the water hit them they wouldn't be hiding much, but I didn't want Bella to be uncomfortable.

I got us under the water and made sure Bella's arm stayed dry. There was nothing sexual about this. Bella kept on hitting me with her lust, but I ignored her. I had us cleaned and dressed in no time. I sat Bella back down on my bed so that I could dry my hair and I was met with her pout. I cocked my eyebrow at her, she sent me her lust once again. I sent her my lust in return and I felt her confusion.

"We had fun in the forest didn't we?" I asked her and she nodded her head. "That's what I thought." I smirked at her, but before she could respond I spoke. "Are you ready for your gift?" I asked her as I threw on her hooded green sweatshirt.

Her fear hit me and I frowned. Why would she be fearful? I walked over to my desk and grabbed the gift out. I put it straight into my pocket before walking back over to her. I knew I had to be careful here because this gift, although hers, was a sensitive one.

"Bella?" I questioned her carefully as I sat down on the bed and grabbed her hand within my own. I had no idea how to go about this. "Just after I met you I went to Phoenix," I told her, keeping a close eye on her emotions. She was feeling confusion. "Charlie was concerned that you weren't eating and he asked me if I had any ideas, I didn't, but I figured Phoenix held the answers."

"The road trip where Emmett tried to buy a gun?" Bella questioned me and I nodded my head. "That was the weekend after I got back, why did you go to Phoenix for me? Why did you give me that sweatshirt?" she pointed at the sweatshirt I was wearing. "What was so special about me? My blood?"

Okay, we were getting off track, but I would answer her questions.

"No, it wasn't your blood. I'm an empath, I feel other people's emotions. Do you remember how you were feeling that first day at school?"

She seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I felt nothing," she admitted sadly.

"Exactly," I agreed. "You had no emotions and I felt compelled to help you, and then slowly, as you came back, I fell in love with you. The sweatshirt?" I looked down at it. "Alice bought it, I hated it. She told me that I had to wear it and give it to you, so I did." I wasn't ready to elaborate fully on that story just yet.

"Thank you," Bella responded, but it came out oddly, like she wasn't sure that she should be thanking me.

"Phoenix. We all wanted to go, but Edward was coming home so Carlisle and Esme had to stay behind. I've told you this before, but everyone cared for you even before they met you. Emmett went for the adventure. Alice went for you. Rose went because of her past, she'll tell you her story soon I suspect. And I went to help you and Charlie. We went to the police station and I read up on your file. I talked to the Chief and the guy who picked you up that day."

She shuddered, clearly remembering. I took a deep breath.

"I found the house," I said quickly and I was hit by Bella's confusion. I repeated myself more slowly. "I found where you were kept, Bella, the house, the basement. It's how I found out about the coyote meat." I allowed it to sink in before continuing. "There was nothing there, nothing left, so I burned it down to the ground." I felt her emotions, but she was switching too quickly for me to identify them. I decided to finish off. "Whilst I was there I found something and I believe that it belongs to you."

I pulled the necklace out of my pocket and handed it to Bella, it was her mother's necklace. I was thankful to have found it half buried in the dirt underneath the bed Bella used in the basement. She stared intently at it. I could clearly feel her sorrow and grief, and before I knew it she was crying. I pulled her to me and she buried her head into my shoulder. I let her get it all out and when she calmed down I pulled her back so that I could see her face.

"I forgot about this," Bella said softly, staring at the necklace. "Renee insisted that I wear it to school that day. It was the necklace Charlie had given her, but she loved it so much that she kept it. I was not used to wearing a necklace and once I noticed that I still had it on I hid it, so that James would never be able to destroy it. Then as time passed I forgot about it. After I left I remembered, but I just assumed it was gone forever. Thank you for giving it back to me, Jasper."

She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly, I could feel her gratitude. I was glad I could make her happy, glad to be able to give her a piece of her mother back.

"Let me help you put it on." She sat back and I pulled her hair to the side, clasping it together firmly. I pulled it around so that it sat straight and Bella's hand went straight to it. It was two hearts entwined and it reminded me of us so much.

"I miss her so much," Bella admitted, fiddling with the necklace. "Our relationship was strained. She was the child, I was the mother, but it doesn't matter, not in the end. I would do anything just to be able to hear her voice again, hear her laugh, give her a hug. I hate that James killed her, but I am thankful that I now have you. I don't understand why I had to go through that darkness to get to you, to get to the light, but I'm glad that I did."

"You will be fine," I assured her. "I'll make sure of that. We should probably head downstairs," I told her reluctantly. I wanted nothing more than to stay in my bedroom with her, just the two of us, but I knew I couldn't. "I can feel their worry from here."

"Okay," Bella accepted, pulling me into one more hug before walking towards the door.

I jumped up, lacing our hands together. We made our way down the stairs and we were assaulted immediately.

"He bit her," Edward said smugly and I watched as all their faces fell and I was hit with their disappointment. Fucking Edward.

"Son," Carlisle stepped forward, hands up in surrender. "Is this true?"

Is this true? What the fuck did it matter? Oh shit, I bit her. What if I couldn't stop? What if I drained her completely? I could have killed her. Why was I so stupid?

I felt Bella's shield surround me.

"Stop it now," she warned me.

"They're right," I told her. "I fucked up. I bit you, I could have killed you. I'm weak."

"You're not weak."

"They think I'm weak," I admitted as I looked at them all. Their faces said it all.

"So?" Bella countered. "Who cares if they do. We both know how strong you are. You didn't kill me, you didn't overindulge. I was never scared for my life and I'm not scared now. I love you, Jasper. They may think you're weak, that you will slip up at a moment's notice, but you won't. Trust me, you know it's true."

She was right, as always. I slowed my breathing.

"It's just... I felt their disappointment. They're so quick to jump to conclusions-"

"Shush," Bella said, bringing her face right next to mine. "Who cares. If they're stupid enough to play into Edward's little games, then let them. We know the truth and if they're smart they will see it too. I love you, you know this." I felt her love surround me.

She pulled her shield back and I turned my attention to Carlisle.

"Yes, I bit her," I admitted. "It wasn't planned, but she's fine, and look, my eyes aren't red." I said the last part a bit bitterly and I could feel their apologies.

"See." Bella shielded us again. "You can always prove them wrong."

I smiled at her. It did feel good.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Esme asked.

"I am fine. I could use some painkillers though."

I quickly spun to face Bella. She was in pain? I went to search her emotions, but she had her shield firmly in place. I was about to argue, but she gave me a warning glare. Okay, I'd step down. Esme was back almost instantly with Bella's pain medication and a strawberry milkshake. She drank it down quickly and I wondered when the last time she ate was. I suspected it had been awhile. I'd have to make sure she ate soon.

"Bella," Emmett spoke carefully.

"Emmy Bear," Bella responded before jumping up into his arms, he caught her, thankfully. "I missed you," Bella cooed and I could see Emmett melt right in front of my eyes.

"I'm hungry," Bree said as she stepped into the room, clawing at her throat. "This animal blood sucks."

I could feel Carlisle's hurt and I secretly smirked. Edward was finally getting what he deserved, someone who acted worse than he did. It would be fun to watch them clash before they got comfortable with each other.

"Bree," Edward said nervously. "You have to drink it."

I tuned them out, but I knew that now was definitely not the time to inform Carlisle of Bella's plan to drink human blood when she was changed. I caught her eyes and I could tell she was thinking the same thing. We'd deal with that bridge when we got to it.

"She said you needed to call Charlie," Emmett told her as he handed her a phone. "Something about Charlie being upset." Bella frowned. "Alice already filled it with everyone's numbers."

"Excuse me," Bella said as she stepped away from the group.

"Why can't smell her?" Bree asked as she stalked Bella with her eyes. "Can I drink from her?"

"No!" Edward quickly replied.

"Jasper," Bella beckoned me. I followed. We went out the front and she called her father.

"Bells?" he andwered somewhat frantically.

"Yeah, dad, what's up?"

"I feel bad. I wanted you to be there, Bella, I did."

"Dad, calm down. What are you talking about?"

"The ceremony with Sue, I wanted you by my side."

"I am upset you didn't invite me," Bella replied honestly, "but I'm just glad I could witness it."

"Oh, Bella. I tried to postpone it, I really did. The battle came and went and no one told me anything. I called the Cullen's and they told me you were fine, that you and Jasper were away, but that you were fine. I didn't want to think it, but it's the only thing that made sense. I thought you had been injured and Jasper had changed you. I didn't want to wait a year or more before I could see you again. I just got you back, Bells, I didn't want to lose you again."

"Dad, I understand," Bella told him, but he wasn't done just yet.

"I love Sue so much, but I needed the protection of the wolves. If you were a vampire then I would be able to see you because they would protect me. I don't want to lose you, Bella."

"You won't lose me, Charlie, I promise you. And I understand, I really do. It's fine, just go spend time with Sue, okay?"

Bella was just so selfless, I smiled proudly at her.

"Okay, I love you, Bells."

"I love you too, dad."

She hung up the call, but then quickly dialed someone else. I wondered who it was, but I noticed quickly that Bella somehow managed to shield herself completely. She hadn't done this yet and it amazed me. I watched on intently as she waited for the person to answer.

"Peter," she spoke. I couldn't hear her, but I had learned to read lips, Bella didn't seem to know this fact about me though. I felt bad for listening in when she clearly didn't want me to, but I couldn't help myself.

"Where are you? ... Good... No, Wyoming, you'll know the spot when you see it... I'm trusting you, Peter, do what you have to... Keep me updated... ...What do you mean Jasper can read lips..."

Oh crap, now Bella was staring at me intently.

"Peter, you stupid fucker. Lead with that first... Fine!" Bella snapped before hanging up the phone and un-shielding herself.

"You can shield yourself fully," I told her proudly, hitting her with my pride, she pushed it away.

"You can read lips?" she questioned already knowing the answer. "I bet you have questions. I will allow you one."

She bet I had questions? Of course I have fucking questions. She was planning something, I knew this, but she always seemed to be planning something. I knew that I could just ask her outright, but I knew that she would never answer me fully, because if I was supposed to know then I would know already. And with that fucker Peter involved it only meant one thing, I was not supposed to know yet. They must know that I wouldn't agree with it, or that I would interfere with their plans. I'd let them go ahead for now.

"Why are you always planning?" I asked, hoping she would reveal more then she intended. I wasn't stupid, surely I could put the pieces together.

"Because our future is important," she told me softly. "Just remember that okay? Everything I am doing, I am doing it for us, so that we can be together forever."

Was she talking about the Volturi? I knew we had a run in with them coming up. Apparently someone was going to tell them of Bella's existence, but Peter didn't seem worried about it. I wondered if we could face the Volturi before whoever it was got a chance to tell them, that way we could get on top of this and hopefully keep Bella's shield a secret. Deal with it on our terms.

My phone beeped and I pulled it out. It was Peter- _Good idea. I'll text you when you should head to Volterra. For now, lay low and look after your marvelous mate._

I quickly typed out a reply- _I don't like you lying to me Peter, but thank you._

Peter- _Don't mention it fucker, everything's good. Let me do this for you, for us all._

I pocketed my phone and turned my attention to Bella.

"I trust you," I told her honestly and she smiled at me. "We're going to surprise the Volturi soon, I won't let someone else tell them about you. We'll do it together."

She smiled at me cockily, but didn't say anything. Did she already know this? Was she having more dreams of the future? Were her and Peter communicating more than I knew?

"Don't you worry," she told me kindly. "I know what I'm doing," she touched her head knowingly and I thought back to the day when she first had her dream of the future. How she was no longer afraid of the Cullen's afterwards, how she was more accepting, ready to move forward with her life, how she knew she was to become a vampire and she wasn't against it. What exactly had she dreamed? I didn't know, but I hoped she would tell me one day.

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><p><strong>AN- **The run in with the Volturi will come up soon, perhaps the chapter after next, who knows, but I've been planning that chapter for a while, so it should be pretty fucking awesome.

Review for daily updates! Haha, I'm on an updating roll.


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N- **Apologies for the wait, I was sick yesterday :):):) I'm feeling better.

A huge thank you to those of you who took the time to review, you guys are pretty awesome.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

I sat on my bed, back against the headboard as I watched Bella work at my desk. She had a full cooked breakfast to her right and she somehow managed to hold a pen in the fingers of her broken arm and she was tapping it relentlessly. I just looked on amused. I was glad that she was eating and that she had a project to keep her busy. There was a knock at the door and I moved to get it.

"I'll get it," Bella smiled at me. She walked towards the door and I settled back down. "Thank you." I looked up and saw Esme handing Bella a strawberry milkshake, she was smiling at her proudly.

Bella closed the door, downing two painkillers before sitting back down at the desk. She finished off the rest of her breakfast before scribbling some stuff down in the journal I had gotten her. I wish I knew what she was writing, but I wasn't going to push her. She let out a groan before crossing something out. She picked up her phone and dialed Peter's number, she wasn't blocking me this time it seemed.

"Bella, my dear," Peter's voice reached me and it sounded as though it could melt butter.

"Why didn't you tell me Wyoming was the wrong place?" She seemed frustrated with herself.

"I did," Peter replied cockily. "You just didn't want to listen."

"Fine," Bella accepted, "But you better be where you're supposed to be then."

"I am in Montana," Peter told her and you could hear the smile in his voice. "It's beautiful. You need to ask Jasper his view, remember, we are just waiting for your word."

This got me sitting straighter, ask me what?

"Okay, okay. I'll ask him and get back to you." Bella hung up the phone and scribbled something down.

I just sat there, waiting for Bella to ask me whatever she needed to, but it never came. She wrote down a few more things before getting up and walking over to my civil war section. She grabbed a book and sat back down. I watched as she flipped through the pages, reading bits and pieces. An hour passed, I figured she was going to ask me later. I closed my eyes and just listened to her actions.

"Jasper," she broke me out of my thoughts. "What kind of bases did they have during the Civil War?"

I frowned. I know my past intrigued her, but what was she up to?

"Temporary ones," I answered, glad I could tell her something that I had witnessed firsthand. I saw her frown. "We moved locations too often to set up a permanent one."

"But there had to be a permanent base somewhere?" she questioned.

"Sure, somewhere," I told her, "but it's always too big of a risk. Unless you have good defenses then you're just a sitting duck. Most important figures took to the ground, literally. Underground bunkers and the like. They were good, until the enemy got word and blocked the only exit and waited you out."

"Is that why they made castles then?" she seemed genuinely curious and I admit I was enjoying this conversation.

"Castles have good defenses. Solid brick walls which are tough and smooth. A moat. 360 degree views. A draw bridge that only opens outwards. Towers for guards on all corners. Only one road coming in. They work well, but they're too ostentatious if you ask me. They basically scream, _'hey look, we're better than you. We have more power and resources than you. Come and attack us, we dare you.'_ It's a stupid idea for a base if you ask me. Just take the Volturi," I told her going off on a tangent. "Everyone fears the Volturi, and sure it's mostly because they're ancient dicks, but just knowing that they live in a castle, well, it's not helping anything."

"Oh, that makes sense. What makes a good headquarters then?" she furrowed her eyebrows together in thought. It was cute, I smiled at her.

"The White House," I answered simply and her confusion hit me.

"The White House?" she questioned.

"Of course. What do you think of the White House when you hear someone say it?" I asked as I got up from the bed and walked over to her.

She was so enthralled in our conversation that when I sat down on the corner of the desk to talk to her easier I spied her open journal. Disappointingly all it had was one word in capitals, MONTANA, and a map of the state with a cross near the Rocky Mountains. I turned my attention fully onto Bella.

"It's a house, a beautiful looking house," she answered.

"Exactly," I told her, but she still seemed confused. "Working the word 'house' into the name automatically makes it seem less intimidating than it is. You look at a picture and it almost seems like a monument. It's where the President lives, Bella, arguably the most powerful human. The White House was constructed over two hundred years ago, yet it still stands."

She was still giving off a bit of confusion.

"Look at it like this," I told her simply. "It's where the President lives with his family. It's where he works, yet no one is stupid enough to attack him there, well almost no one. People don't see it as a threat. Yes, it is heavily guarded and has the very best defenses, but you don't see that. It has the underground bunkers, and multiple exit points if unavoidable trouble does arise. And when that does happen a helicopter lands on the South Lawn, and in a cover of agents the President boards before being taking to an air field to board Air Force One. Now that's a good tactical base too, up in the sky, away from danger, but the President is still able to run the country. It's only a temporary solution though because all planes must land at some point."

"How do you know all of this?" Bella asked me, smiling proudly.

"It's history," I answered simply. "It intrigues me."

"You were a Major in the army, did you ever think of progressing into a role with more power? Perhaps you could have been President."

I let out a laugh, me as President? Sure I was charismatic and fair, but still. Would I have been the next Abraham Lincoln? I hardly knew and now it didn't even matter.

"Maybe," I answered honestly. "I liked moving my way up through the ranks of the army. When the war ended I may have been influential enough to gain an in for politics. I'm not sure I would have taken it, but I don't like just sitting around doing nothing, not when I was human at least, not when there were things to be fighting for."

Bella's pride and happiness crushed me. I ducked my head shyly.

"I love you, Major Jasper Whitlock," she beamed at me before kissing me.

"Why are you suddenly interested in defenses?" I asked her as I pulled back.

"I don't know." I could feel a tinge of deceit from her, but it was soon replaced with truth. "It just intrigues me as well. And now I know why people aren't building castles anymore," she winked at me.

"Yeah, castles, bad idea there. The people who build them and live there place themselves in a false sense of security. They all assume their castle is indestructible, that no one is getting in, so when someone does get in they are trapped inside their own fortress. I don't know why a lot of them were too stupid to makes escape routes, but then again there's a lot of stupidity and ignorance in history." Too much if you ask me. Humans had a hard time learning from their mistakes at times.

"Bella," I started with a sigh. What was she up to? Was she just curious or was she wanting to build the perfect fortress? And if it was the latter, why? Did she just want a safe place to live once she became a newborn? A place where no vampires would ever be able to wrong her ever again? I didn't know, but I trusted her.

"Tell me about your past, all of it," Bella said as she grabbed my hands within her own.

"Okay," I accepted, walking her over to the bed.

She grabbed out her phone and sent off a quick text message. I gauged the beeps and translated it in my head- _No castle, like the White House, but way cooler. _I turned and faced Bella.

"Are you ready?" I asked as I sat on the bed and pulled her onto my lap, her back against my chest. This would work out better if I couldn't see her face. I would still be able to feel her emotions though. She nodded her head and I began.

I told her all I could remember from my human life. Told her how I forged the documents to join the army at an early age. How I clawed my way to becoming the youngest Major. My last mission, saving as many women and children that I could. How I came across three women in need of help, how they tricked me, changed me just because they thought I would be able to help them. I told her of my newborn years, how I struggled with my gift and the bloodlust. How I impressed the sisters because I didn't want to be killed once I hit a year old.

I told her of all the battles, all the years. The pain I felt, how many people and newborns I had to kill. I told her how Maria used and abused me. How I had to kill her sisters when they became too greedy. I told her of Peter and how he wormed his way into my heart. I told her about having to kill yet sparing Charlotte. I told her of the loneliness I felt once they left. How I became a recluse, distancing myself from Maria. How I caught wind she was going to kill me and how I had given up everything, even my mind, becoming a savage with one purpose, to kill Maria.

I told her how Peter had returned and saved me, but how I struggled before going off on my own. And then I told her about Alice and the hope that I had found. I told her how we worked out we weren't mated early on, but how we pretended anyway because Alice said it was the right thing to do. I told her how I was going to leave as soon as Alice gave me up, but then I met her. Alice was smart and I told Bella that I could never leave, not once I met her. As my story rounded out I was glad to see that Bella didn't hold any negative emotions towards me for my past, nothing changed within her. Well that was a lie, her determination grew, as did her love, pride, and compassion towards me.

I barely had enough time to hug her before she launched into her own story. She told me a lot about her growing up. How she had to raise her mother, seeing Charlie only every now and then. She told me of Phil and how she was considering moving to Forks once he married her Mom, so that she was out of the way. She told me all about coming home from school and finding her mother tied up. How she willingly went with James to save her mother. She told me how she fought, how she defied him, but that she eventually had to give in. She told me of her two escapes and exactly how she felt when Victoria forced fed her venom. She admitted to me that James had taken her because of her scent and was waiting until she turned sixteen to change her. She told me that James left one day and never returned. She told me of the police officer who rescued her and how she got to see Charlie again.

She told me how after finding about Renee's death that Charlie took her to live with him. She told me how she felt so hollow, so alone. She never thought she would be able to survive, to make it out the other side. And then she told me about her guardian angel, me. How I had given her hope, how I had shown her that there was someone out there who cared, someone who was looking out for her. She told me about the struggle, knowing that my family was vampires, but somehow different from James. How she tested me to see if I would protect her and she was happy to see that I always did.

She told me what she thought of the Major and why she admired him so much. She told me a little about what she knew of Isabella and divulged that Isabella and the Major were mates, just like us. She told me how she felt once she knew that Victoria was coming for her, how she tried to be strong even though she was scared. She told me about the battle, how she had tried to save the newborns, but it had all been in vain. She told me of her love for me and how she never thought she would ever have anything like that. And finally she told me about our future.

"I had a dream," Bella started before I felt a shot of amusement from her. She was likely thinking of Martin Luther King Jr. I shared my amusement with her. "I have them every so often actually, but they're always the same, only minor details change. We're together Jasper and we're happy. I'm a vampire and we are surrounded by our family, but it's more than that. The world is different, it's better. I don't know all the details, but I know what I must sacrifice for this future to come true." Sacrifice? "I will get my justice for the life James and Victoria doomed me to, and you will get what you desire more, other than me that is," she smiled at me coyly, but didn't elaborate. I wasn't complaining because this was more than I had gotten from her yet.

It got me thinking though. What did I desire most apart from her? I thought and then it hit me, purpose. I wanted purpose. Was Bella going to give me purpose again? I was broken from my train of thought as Bella's phone received a message and I watched on as a sad smile came across Bella's face. What was wrong? I was about to speak, but she covered it up and was straddling my lap in an instance. I wasn't protesting. She kissed me hard before quickly running out of breath. She pulled away, but I pulled her back to me, holding her close, blanketing her in my love. She pulled away again and I let her.

"Let's go downstairs," she told me, a mischievous streak running through her. "I want to watch Edward with his mate."

I smiled. That would be fun.

"Emmett," Bella called out as she grabbed something from her bag and waited for him at the door. I joined her side and eyed her carefully, what was she planning? She reminded me of me, always up to something, always planning.

"Bella." Emmett arrived, smiling kindly at her. I'm glad they seemed to be getting along better.

"Do me a favor?" Bella asked, only after she shielded us three.

"What kind of a favor?" he questioned her.

"Want to screw with Edward with me, well Edward's mate. Don't worry, it can't be traced back to us."

I could feel Emmett's amusement and happiness.

"I'm in," he agreed without even knowing the terms.

"Turn around," Bella told him and he complied. "Bend down," she said once she realized just how tall he was. Once he bent down I noticed Bella grab the item she had in her hand, it looked like one of her tops, it definitely smelled like her. She grabbed it and shoved it down Emmett's shirt, making sure it looped over his singlet. She wanted it to stay there. Was she going to tempt Bree with her scent, I didn't know, but I knew it would be fun to watch.

"There, let's go downstairs," Bella said. "Emmett, you go first." She unshielded him and he ran down the stairs, we followed slowly, hand in hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked Bella confused, I wasn't complaining though. "Oh, I'm just getting Edward back for being an ass," she told me simply and I smiled. I fucking loved her.

We made it into the living room and we sat down on one of the couches. I pulled Bella into my lap and she unshielded us. Emmett came in a sprawled out on the couch opposite us, his legs resting on the coffee table, good thing Esme wasn't in the room. We just sat and we waited, making idle chit chat so that it didn't seem like we were up to anything. Bree came in and automatically sniffed, her eyes landed on Emmett, she was confused.

"Where's Edward?" Bella asked me, shielding us.

I sense the area around us.

"The river, probably cleaning up. He'll be here as soon as he's done."

"Good," Bella said happily, un-shielding us.

Bree was stepping closer to Emmett, sniffing every second. Bella made sure to keep her scent shielded, so that Bree wouldn't focus on her at all. As she got closer and closer, Emmett stopped talking and turned his attention to Bree. He gave her a look which I can only describe as a, what the hell are you doing look, and due to Emmett's size Bree faltered in her steps. I could feel Bella's amusement and it was good to see her enjoying herself once again, it had been too long.

Bree made a wide circle around Emmett, still sniffing him. Emmett focused back on us and his story. We answered when necessary, but our main focus was on Bree.

"Why do you smell like her?" Bree whispered, trying to figure it out.

"Smell like who?" Emmett faked annoyance as he turned to face her.

"That one," Bree said pointing to Bella.

"My name is Bella," Bella smiled at her gently.

"Why do you smell like Bell-a?"

"I don't smell like Bella," Emmett defended, sniffing the air to make his point. "What about you Jazz, do you think I smell like Bella?"

"You better not smell like my mate," I warned him with a growl and this confused Bree more.

I could feel Bella's amusement and then she started laughing. What was she laughing about? The situation was not that funny yet.

"Ja-azz," she said in between laughter, "they call you Jazz?"

I rolled my eyes and forcefully sent her some calm, she pushed it away. It was a nickname Alice had given me, and after the rest of the family was done mocking me they all started using it as well. I didn't mind it, but it wasn't my favorite nickname either. A few snickers came from Emmett and I glared at him.

"Don't you start, Emmy Bear." That sobered him up.

"Oh now come on, that's not fair Jazzy?" Bella spoke.

"Do you want me to come up with an embarrassing nickname for you?" I warned her as I kept my focus on Bree, she was still staring at Emmett.

"Please, by all means."

"Bella, don't test me," I warned her. My patience was wearing thin underneath all her amusement. She was teasing me and I found that I didn't like it. She pouted at my seriousness.

"Why do you smell like Izzy?" Bree spoke once again, clearly not used to her vampire mind at all. She had listened to our whole conversation, but she hadn't processed it right.

Izzy? At least it was just as bad as Jazzy. I could feel Bella's disgust, well that's what you get for playing with fire. I debated whether or not to tell her that it was too late, that a newborn's mind forms connections and they're hard to break. Bree had only ever called Bella 'Bella' once before and I could see it didn't feel right to her, but 'Izzy' well she definitely like the sound of that name it seemed.

"My name is not Izzy," Bella protested, but Bree didn't respond.

I could heard Edward coming, so I tapped Bella on the shoulder before motioning towards the door.

"I can smell Izzy, I know I can."

Bella let out another groan, I laughed out loud. I felt Bella determination as she extended her shield. I think she shielded Emmett's back. I was more preoccupied with her emotions. She was not happy with me, just like I hadn't been happy with her before. Good. Tit for fucking tat.

Edward came in and looked at us all confused, staring at his mate who was staring at Emmett confused. Emmett was back into telling his fake story. Edward frowned.

"What are you doing?" he asked Bree frustrated. Oh, this was going to be fun.

"The big guy, he smells like Izzy." I shot my amusement to Bella.

"Don't start, Jazzy," Bella reminded me. Fuck. I cut off my amusement straightaway. "Good."

"Izzy?" Edward questioned his mate confused.

"That one," Bree pointed to the wall above Bella's head, she was still focused on Emmett, "her name is Izzy."

"Her name is Bella," Edward sighed.

"That's what I said, Izzy," Bree was now the one getting frustrated. "The Bear, he smelled like Izzy, I smelt it. Jazzy said he couldn't smell it, but I smelt it."

"I don't smell anything," Edward replied after sniffing the air, Bella's shield appeared to be working.

"It's there," Bree took another sniff and frowned. "He smelt like Izzy, he did."

"I don't know what she's talking about," Emmett responded, keeping his mind clean from Edward. "Maybe she has a problem with her nose, like her brain."

"She does not have a problem with her brain, just her ears," Edward responded and I let out a laugh. Yeah, he had no idea how newborns worked. He may have found Bree's nicknames fun to begin with, but as he never seemed to correct her they stuck. I wondered what she called the other Cullen's.

"Bree," I spoke directly to her. "Who are the members of this coven?"

She frowned and Edward sighed before placing his head in his hand.

"My mate told me this," she smiled proudly, temporarily forgetting Bella's scent. "Carl and Esmeralda are the mom and dad. Bear and Liar are mated. Alice is with Mutt. Jazzy and Izzy are together, but I mustn't eat Izzy or I die. And we're not a coven, we're a family."

I tried not to laugh. I briefly wondered how Rose got the nickname of Liar, I knew when she found this out she would not be happy at all. And somehow Alice avoided the mash up, I bet that was all due to Edward.

"And who is Bree with?" I asked, hoping like hell that Edward had a nickname.

Bree frowned before looking at her mate, "Bree is with him," she pointed to Edward and his face fell, we all grinned.

"Eddy," Bella, Emmett and I said at the same time, hoping she would take it on board. She was quiet as she stared at her mate, but she didn't say anything.

"I'm going to fucking kill you, Edweird," Rose fumed as she came in. "My name is Liar? Liar? How the fuck is that possible? It's not. You better fucking change it back, I don't care how long you have to spend with her, I will not be known as Liar."

"Rose, language," Esme said coming into the house, with Carlisle following her.

"Who are you with Bree?" I asked her again, this time she answered automatically.

"Edweird," she answered, smiling lovingly at Edward. Edward let out a frustrated growl. We laughed at him.

"Fine," he gritted out. "Fine! I will teach her the right names."

"See that you do, Edweird," Emmett said as he shared his amusement with Rose.

Edward grabbed Bree and dragged her up the stairs.

"The Bear, he smelt like Izzy," Bree started up again, but Edward just ignored her.

"Why does she call me Liar?" Rose asked and I could feel her pain. "I'm not a Liar."

"Your name," I told her, "Rosalie, it has 'lie' at the end, perhaps she read it somewhere, who knows. Edward is information overloading her and she can't correctly process it all. He's trying to rush the newborn phase, but it doesn't work like that." I could feel Bella's pride, so I shut my mouth before anyone else decided to feel the same way.

"They're coming," Alice spoke sadly as she came in from a hunt. Who was coming?

Bella wiggled out of my lap and walked over to Alice, bringing her into a hug.

"This is good," she told Alice, reassuring her. "You know that, deep down."

"I know," Alice agreed sadly, "I just wish there was another way."

"There's not," Bella said simply.

"Who's coming?" Emmett asked the question we all wanted to know the answer to.

"The Denali's," Alice answered, and I couldn't understand why she would be sad at all.

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><p><strong>AN- **So as you may already be able to guess, the Denali's are coming, and who told the Volturi of Bella's existence in the books? Yep, that's right. So that's next and it brings us one step closer to Bella and Jasper's run in with the Volturi.

Review.


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N- **I'm not sure whose point of view to write this chapter in, or whether to do half and half. I don't know, and I also don't know why I write these author note before I've even started writing the chapter. Stupid, haha. I better figure it out before I start...

Thank you for reviewing, you guys are awesome-awesome (totally a word)

**Disclaimer- **I don't own Twilight, but we get some more characters from the books in this chapter.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

Bella came back over to the couch and sat down next to me. I held onto her tightly.

"So as I was saying," Emmett began and I let out a groan. It was a fake story just for the purpose of annoying Edward, but Emmett was sticking to the story. I tuned him out, but I could feel Bella's amusement, at least she was enjoying his farfetched story of how he fought a bear and won, he never won.

I tuned all of them out and focused on Edward. He really had no idea what he was doing. I could feel his emotions and he was beyond frustrated.

"Don't you get it?" Bree spat at him, she was feeling anger and bloodlust, but that was to be expected.

"Of course I do," Edward replied, he was lying.

"You don't, you're stupid, Edweird."

"It's Edward and I'm your mate, don't talk to me like that."

"Ed-ward," she spat out. "Just leave me alone. You can't make me do anything. I'm stronger than you. I know why you won't let me kill Izzy, I see the way you look at her." I stiffened at the thought and I felt Bella's concern. I relaxed and she focused back on Emmett's story.

"Stop it, right now!" Edward yelled at her.

"I can't control my thoughts," Bree countered honestly, but Edward didn't see that.

"Stop it, don't you think of her, not like that, don't you dare!"

I could feel Edward's emotions threatening to break free and I knew this would end badly. I had seen this situation countless times before from humans and the result was never a good one. Everything fell silent and Edward's rage finally got the better of him. I was off the couch and up the stairs in an instant. As soon as I entered Edward's room I had no time to think. Edward's hand was pulled back, vicious look on his face, and Bree was cowered in front of him scared. He was going to hit her, but they were mates and if he went through with it they'd never recover fully.

I didn't hesitate, I grabbed Edward's arm. He turned to face me, he was still angry, but his confusion started to seep in and then he realized what he was about to do. I could feel his remorse, but I could also feel that Bree was terrified. I couldn't allow this to continue, I just couldn't. I grabbed Bree's arm in my other hand before I marched them down the stairs. We hit the bottom and Bella came around the back of the couch. I didn't hesitate as I ripped Edward's arm off. If he was going to hit his mate with it then he could do without it.

"Hold onto this," I told Bella as I threw Edward's arm at her.

"Urgh," Bella said disgusted as she stepped to the side and allowed Edward's arm to hit the back of the couch. "I'm not touching that," she informed me.

I sighed. "Rose, put Edward's arm in your safe." I could feel that Rose wanted to protest, but she didn't dare.

I turned my attention to Edward, who was now crumpled on the floor, slowing the venom leaking out of his shoulder. He looked pitiful. I pulled Bree forward and let go of her arm. I could feel her concern for Edward, but she was still scared. She was scared of me now it seemed, good. I pushed her in front of me and she warily looked at me, I stared her down and she finally lowered her gaze. I felt the others come into the room to see what was going on, but they smartly kept their distance.

"Kneel," I commanded Bree, but she stood her ground. "Kneel!" I snarled at her and she fell down. This newborn needed direction more than anything. She was never taught the rules of vampire life, so she cannot follow them without learning them first. "My name is Jasper," I told her, keeping my voice firm. "You will obey everything I say or you will be punished. Don't look at me and do not speak unless spoken to. Some vampires have a gift," I told her. We needed to know if she had one or not. "I am an Empath. I can sense emotions and I can project them. Let me demonstrate."

I took another step back before slowly giving her discomfort, once she had gotten used to it, I sent her pain. I started it small, but increased it until she was howling on the floor. I could feel Edward's pain, but he wasn't stupid enough to intervene. I slowly pulled the emotions back.

"Kneel!" I commanded her once my influence was gone and she complied straightaway. Good. "I can make you feel anything I want," I told her and I could feel her fear. "I've felt a lot in my life and everything runs on emotions. I know the greatest pain you can ever endure, the loss of a mate, I can make you feel it and then double it. In turn I can also make you feel the complete opposite, like you died and went to heaven you were so happy, but I don't. A gift is not something you can abuse. It is only to be used when needed. Now tell me, Bree, and remember that I can feel deceit. Do you have a gift?"

"Sunlight can't kill me," Bree spoke fearfully, but truthfully, "but I suspect this is the same for all vampires." I closed my eyes. She knew nothing. What had Victoria taught these newborns? I was suddenly glad that Bella wasn't able to save any more of them.

"Tell me about him," I sighed. I could feel her love and hurt when she spoke about the sunlight. She was relieving a memory.

"Who?" she countered back, trying to fake honesty. She doubted my power.

"Tell me!" I commanded her and she gave in.

"His name was Diego," she spoke barely above a whisper and I could feel Edward's shock. Had he not read her mind? I could feel his regret. He hadn't? Was he trying to respect her privacy because she was her mate? I could feel his agreement. I would never understand that kid.

"Tell me about him," I softened my voice, sending her trust. She took it on board.

"We were trapped outside when the sun rose and we managed to seek shade in an underwater cave. We didn't know about the sun, we were just told to stay out of it. We grew closer, talking, testing vampire myths. We couldn't leave until darkness. As soon as the sun set we went looking for our army, it took a day, we grew even closer. We deduced that we were made for a reason, but we didn't know why. I wanted to quiz Riley, our leader. I wanted to know why we were created, but Diego didn't want me too. I wore him down and we went off to speak with Riley.

"We hid in the trees. Watching Riley with HER, she had bright red hair and I could tell she was a leader. We listened to their conversation, finding out bits and pieces, but it didn't make much sense. Once Riley left, Diego sent me away. He was going to confront him about the sunlight. I went back to camp and I waited for him, he never returned. Riley eventually returned and told us we were to kill the yellow-eyed vampires. I asked him about Diego and he told me that he had gone with HER to spy on you.

"I didn't think it was the truth, but I hoped it was. As the battle approached I was tempted with an offer to leave, I wanted to take it, but I couldn't. I thought Diego was still out there, so I went off to the battle. I just wanted to find him. As we approached, ready for battle, I searched for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was then that I realized that Riley and HER killed him. I didn't want to fight. I just wanted Diego. The next thing I knew, Edward picked me up and ran away with me."

"Tell me about this offer to leave?" I questioned her. I needed to know if there were any others out there who had escaped.

"His name was Fred," she spoke carefully, "he had a gift." I was glad she wasn't hiding this from me. "He smelt really bad, it physically made you sick, you couldn't even look at him. I stuck by him so that the others would leave me alone. It was hard, but I managed to look past his awful smell. He never wanted to be a vampire, not at all. He was civilized, he never interact with the others, he kept to himself. When Diego disappeared they began to prepare us for the fight. Fred wanted no part of it and kept his gift in place. I sat by him, not wanting a part of it either. We talked and played cards. We became friends.

"He was so smart. He had a scientific brain and he analyzed everything. He didn't trust Riley. He was determined to leave before the fight, he asked me to go with him, but I couldn't. He promised he would wait for me. I was to get Diego and run from the battlefield. He was going to wait for me for one day before moving on. He didn't think I would survive the battle, he's surely moved on by now."

She was feeling sadness.

"Diego was not your mate," I informed her and she frowned. I could feel her anger. "If he was your true mate then you would have felt when he passed on from this world."

"Maybe he's still alive then?" she spoke out of turn. I decided to let it slide, but I did growl at her. She learned her lesson.

"If you were mates, he would have felt the mating pull. He would have felt your fear and hurt and he wouldn't have been able to resist tracking you down. Edward is your mate whether or not you choose to believe it."

"How do you know?" she asked quietly, carefully.

"I can feel it. The mating bond, the love, it's there, but it's faint. It will grow with time, once you've both accepted it. Look at Edward," I commanded her. She needed to see him in a new light. "Tell me what you feel."

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><p><strong>BPOV<strong>

It was so exciting watching my mate in charge. He definitely knew what he was doing. He was gaining her trust and in turn he was learning everything he needed to know about her life. He was smart and I was so proud of him. Plus he look so damn hot doing it. I looked over at Edward and I was glad to see that he had stopped leaking venom. I wondered when Jasper would give him his arm back. I don't know what happened upstairs, but it must have been serious enough for Jasper to take his arm. My phone beeped and I pulled it out.

_Go out front with Carlisle. _-Peter.

I sighed. I wanted to watch my mate some more, but I knew not to go against Peter. I left my post by the back of the couch and made a wide circle around the back of Bree. I stood by Carlisle and I could tell he was conflicted. I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the door. He hesitated, but followed me. I walked down the steps and stopped in the middle of the driveway. Carlisle stood next to me.

"Are you okay, Bella?" he asked.

"Fine," I responded. "How about you?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I want to be there for Edward, to help him, but he was about to hit Bree and that's unacceptable." So that's what happened.

"Ass," I muttered.

"I trust Jasper, he knows what he's doing. He told me awhile back that I needed to let Edward go, let him make his own decisions and mistakes. I'm trying to do that this time, but it's hard after almost a century of not doing so. I'm actually thankful you pulled me away."

"No problem," I told him. "I got a text from Peter, he said we should be out here. I don't know why."

Carlisle frowned and then I saw his eyebrows knit in concentration and then he sniffed the air and a huge smile came over his face. He took off running, I just stood there confused. Were the Denali's already here? Surely not. They had only just decided to come, it should take longer than this. Someone else perhaps? I checked my phone, but there were no new messages. I stood still. Moments later Carlisle came out of the forest with another vampire by his side. As they got closer I noticed that he had red eyes and sandy blonde hair that rested just above his shoulders. I kept my gaze on him and my shield up. He was yet to notice me.

They stood right in front of me before the mystery guy finally noticed me.

"Carlisle, you got me a welcoming snack, you shouldn't have," his American accent drifted over me and I shivered on the inside, trying desperately to keep calm on the outside.

"He's joking, Bella," Carlisle informed me and I calmed down. "This is Garrett, he's a good friend of mine. Garrett, this is Bella, she is a part of my family so she is off limits."

"Pity," he replied before reaching his hand out. I grabbed it with my own. "A pleasure to meet you, Bella. May I ask why you've chosen to hang around vampires, and these vampires to be more specific?"

I looked towards Carlisle, but he was looking at me, he seemed worried.

"That choice was taken out of my hands," I told him truthfully and he smiled. It was not the response I was looking for.

"Carlisle, you sly dog. I knew you were a badass. I can't believe you're kidnapping humans now."

I sensed that he was joking, but he was so close to the truth I let out a whimper as I remembered the day James took me.

"Bella?" Carlisle questioned me concerned. I turned my attention to Garrett.

"I was kidnapped two years ago by a nomadic vampire," I told him and I could see he was listening intently. "I escaped, but am forever doomed to live with your kind."

"Doomed?" Garrett questioned.

"Her captor's mate forced Bella to drink her venom," Carlisle spoke gravely. "I've researched it and it seems as though the venom will eventually kill Bella."

"Change her," Garrett spoke with finality.

"That is her decision to make, her and her mate's."

"She has a mate?" Garrett questioned excitedly. "One of yours? Edward then?"

I shuddered at the thought.

"No, not Edward. Jasper," Carlisle explained and Garrett smiled even brighter.

"I leave you for seventy years and you have another family member?" Garrett smiled brightly. "How many is that now? Five?"

Carlisle shook his head. "Including mates?" he asked and Garrett nodded. "Ten."

"Ten! Ten!" Garrett seemed impressed. "You and your family, Carlisle," he shook his head in disbelief. "You won't be able to hide from the Volturi forever with those numbers."

"I know," Carlisle said gravely.

"It doesn't matter," I told him confidently. "Jasper and I are to confront the Volturi soon."

"Firecracker," Garrett looked at me proudly. "And so confident."

"Bella's special," Carlisle smiled at me.

"The Volturi are ruthless," Garrett informed me seriously. "You will not be able to beat them. Not just you and you're mate."

"Oh, I bet we could," I told him as I placed my shield around him and cut off all of his senses. I saw him panic, so I pulled it back. "My mate and I don't intend to kill the Volturi anyway. We just want them to leave us alone."

"What are you?" Garrett asked me, looking at me closely.

"Human," I told him and he frowned.

"A human and an animal drinker going up against the Volturi," he whistled. "I don't care if you're mates, you're going to die."

I let out a laugh before walking towards the house.

"Let me introduce you to my mate, Jasper," I told him. His curiosity overtook him and he followed me into the house.

Jasper was still being dominant and I couldn't suppress my lust for him. I saw his shoulders drop and I knew he felt it. He straightened his shoulders and focused back on Bree.

"Again!" he snapped. Bree just sat there, thinking hard.

Garrett joined my side and I could feel him stiffen beside me. He made a noise and Jasper spun around, his face twisted in rage.

"The god of war, it's not possible," Garrett spoke quietly, but I heard him. The next thing I know Garrett is lying on the ground, face down, with his neck exposed.

"Garrett," Jasper spoke somewhat coldly and I walked over to him. Grasping his hand in my own.

"Garrett," I told him, "I'd like you to meet my mate, Jasper." He didn't move.

"Now, now, Garrett," Jasper spoke, softening his face and calming his voice. "There's no need for that, we are no longer in the South or the Civil War for that matter." Garrett relaxed a little, but he didn't move to get up. "You can't hold me responsible forever," Jasper told him. "Just like I no longer blame you for fighting for the North."

"I was not fighting for the North," Garrett spoke quietly as he kneeled instead, still keeping his head down.

"Details," Jasper responded. He must have sense everyone's confusion because he explained further. "Garrett was under my command during the civil war. I knew there was something wrong about him, but he was a skilled fighter, so I left it be. He hardly ever fed to keep his eyes black instead of red. Once I was turned I lost track of him, but during the Southern Wars I came across him again. I almost killed him, but I allowed him to live when I realized we were both forged in war."

"I take it back," Garrett straightened his shoulders and looked at me, but he didn't stand up. "You are not a fool, I'm sorry I misjudged you, Bella."

"Garrett, get off your fucking knees before I make that your permanent position."

"Jasper, language," Esme spoke and Jasper rolled his eyes.

Garrett sensed things were calming down, so he stood up, taking a few steps back, so that he was standing next to Carlisle.

"Give me a heads up the next time you adopt someone as powerful as the Major," Garrett told Carlisle.

"We didn't know who he really was until recently. We just thought he had survived the wars. Even if I did know I never would have told you, Garrett, this was fun to watch. Were you really under Jasper's command in the army?"

"Yes. I thought there was something wrong with him. He was the youngest Major in the army. If it weren't for his eyes and his compassion I would have thought he was a vampire like me."

"What color eyes did he have?" I asked him hopefully. Jasper didn't remember silly details like this, he deemed them not important.

"Blue," Garrett answered, smiling. "I have a picture of him from that time, it's in storage, but I can get it for you, Bella. I like to sketch people who are important to me."

"I would love to see it," I admitted. Seeing Jasper pre-vampire would be something. To see him before he was hardened by war, hopefully, to see him in his prime. Jasper turned and faced me, clearly feeling my love, lust, and pride. I really did love him. I brought him under my shield. "I like Garrett," I told him.

Jasper let out a grunt in return. "Yeah, he's cool," is all he said.

I pulled my shield back and smiled at him.

"Seriously," Garrett said stepping towards me. Jasper stood in front of me. I touched Jasper's back and sent him my annoyance at his actions, he stepped aside and Garrett took one more step forward. "What are you?" he asked me yet again.

"She is a shield," someone spoke from the door and my head snapped up. "Plus she has prophetic dreams." I heard everyone gasp and I closed my eyes. I was trying to keep that gift a secret. Who the hell was this guy? I pushed out my shield and pushed him up against the wall before walking up to him. "That was my secret," I hissed at him, and I heard the others gasp again at this revelation. Did these vampires really have no lives of their own? More vampires appeared at the door and a vampire with pale blonde hair stepped towards me.

"Kate, no," somebody warned her, I didn't know who.

I could feel something trying to get into my shield, but I tightened it around me.

"Impressive," Garrett spoke and I turned to smirk at him. Damn right it was impressive.

Garrett's eyes glazed over and I could no longer feel Kate's gift. I let my concentration drop and the male I had against the wall fell to the ground. I turned my attention to Garrett, he was staring intently at Kate. I knew that look all too well by now, they were mates. Good for them, I guess. I was still pissed off that this guy had exposed my second gift, but I decided not to hurt him anymore. I stepped away from him and joined my mate at his side.

"Welcome," Carlisle spoke trying to get a hold of the situation. "I'm glad you could make it Denali's."

No one spoke, no one dared moved. _Well this would be fun_, I thought sarcastically and Edward let out a laugh. My shield was down. I put it back in place.

"Come with me, my mate," I told Jasper as I pulled him towards the front door. I didn't want to be there, not right now. He took one look at Bree who seemed to be fussing over Edward's wound before he followed me out. I led him to the forest and we settled up in a tree, well within hearing distance.

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><p><strong>AN- **So the Denali's are here, and Garrett. I fell in love with Garrett when I was re-reading his character description, so I just had to add him. Plus he's Kate's mate, so it makes sense.

Review


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N-** Another day, another chapter. Thank you to those of you who reviewed :) This is for you guys.

We made it to chapter 40, 40 chapters! Geez. And over 150,000 words. Soon I'll have to decide whether to write a sequel or to keep it all in this one, but that's future DodgerHolden's problem, ha.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Do you want to know what they're saying?" I asked Bella as we perched up in a tree.

"Not really," Bella replied before getting lost in her thoughts.

I focused back on the house as I held Bella to me tightly.

Carlisle was trying to apologize to Eleazar, I had no idea why. Eleazar was stupid for revealing Bella's gifts to everyone. He used to be in the Volturi guard, I thought he was trained better than that, obviously not. I didn't worry about it much because I knew Bella was pissed and she seemed to be planning something. I'd follow her lead once she had decided what to do, so that the playing field would be even.

Next I focused on Garrett, my comrade for lack of a better suiting word. I didn't think we were friends, but I knew that we easily could be due to our similarities. I first met Garrett during the Civil War. I had just been promoted to Major and they gave me my troops. I was their commanding officer and they had to do everything I said. Garrett was no exception and he followed all of my orders perfectly.

I knew he was different. He was unbelievably strong and the hardships of war never got to him, he seemed like he was used to it. Aside from his constant black eyes and the times her slipped away out of my sight, there was one thing that was a dead giveaway that he was possibly more than human, he never slept, never tired. He pretended to sleep when we could find a safe place, but as soon as everyone drifted off he got up. I could sense him. I looked after my troops, first and foremost, and I was always the last one to fall asleep. I lifted my head one night and I strained to see him sitting against a tree, sketching in the dark, I didn't know how he could see what he was drawing. He caught my gaze and held it. Neither of us said anything and sleep eventually overtook me.

We got along well. He never caused any trouble, so I in turn never questioned him. As long as he was on my side, I was happy. Plus he was always joking or telling a story about past wars, at the time I thought they were made up, but now I knew that he had served in those wars also. The younger troops loved him. He boosted morale. I could sense that when all focus was on him there was some kind of calm that settled over us. He was a good asset. He was supposed to be with me when I went to Galveston, but he slipped out, like he usually does. He was hunting, but I didn't know that at the time. I never saw him after that and I could only pray, once I had been changed, that he was looking after my troops, looking after my boys. I didn't know what he did after I left, Maria didn't allow me to leave her side for the first decade. The civil war was over and I no longer cared, or so I told myself.

Garrett came into my territory one day, decades after I had last seen him. He looked exactly the same. I was destroying newborns, dozens of them, they had passed their used by date. Garrett accidently came upon me just as I had finished. My eyes were black and all I could see was red. I was the Major, or God of War as he likes to call me. I didn't hesitate, I attacked him. He fought back, it was a good fight, an even fight, but then his emotions shifted. I could feel his recognition, he cared for me. I threw him away from me and examined him. He looked familiar, but I couldn't place him.

"Major Whitlock, sir?" he asked me, but he didn't allow himself to believe it. I grunted in response. I gauged his emotions, they were flashing by so fast, but he landed on defeat, he had accepted his defeat. He sunk to his knees and presented his neck to me. I looked at him closely, trying to remember him, and then it hit me. He was my solider. I remembered he was a loyal follower and he still seemed to be. I knew right then that I could not subject him to the Southern Wars, he was a good guy, he didn't deserve it. I stepped away and retrieved his arms which I had removed in the battle. I knelt down and helped him reattach one.

"I know you," I whispered to him, keeping my voice firm and hard. "Listen to me, you are to leave and you are never to come back, do you understand me?" I could feel he didn't agree. "You are to never look for me, not here, it's not safe. I will allow you to live, but only because I know you. This is an order," I told him and I could finally feel his acceptance. "I don't show mercy to anyone, so you are never to speak of this pardon. I am feared and that is the only thing keeping me alive. I don't care where you go, but you are to stay out of the South." He wanted to protest, but he wouldn't dare. I was still his commanding officer in his eyes and her would never disobey me.

His arm healed and I handed him his other one. "Run," is the last thing I ever said to him. He stood there, just staring at me. I could feel his sadness and his remorse. I brushed the emotions off. "Run!" I repeated before I turned around and took off. He took my cue and I could feel him running North. I kept a hold of his emotions for as long as I could, but just after I hit Maria's army they disappeared completely, good. I hadn't seen him since and I didn't even know that Carlisle knew him. I was glad he was here, it would be good to get to know him outside of war. Plus, he found his mate in Kate. I smiled at that. Kate was definitely the better one of the Denali sisters.

I grabbed a hold of Bella tightly and projected my happiness at my reunion with Garrett. She laced out fingers together, resting her broken arm on my leg. I looked at the cast, it had been through a lot. I wasn't even there to witness her broken arm and I never asked how it happened. I frowned. The Major had broken down and showed me everything Maria had done to me and how I had killed her, but he never showed me his memories of Bella. I heard him sigh and next thing I saw was that day. We were trapped underneath the mud and debris. It confused me at first, the Major was being so nice to her, well within reason, he still acted like an ass.

I just relaxed and watched it all unfold. I saw the Major take Bella's blood, which she willingly gave me. A while ago it would have pissed me off, but not now. I saw how the Major struggled not to take too much, for me. He knew I wouldn't want to do this, or to have red eyes, but he understood that it was the only way to get free. I saw his compassion towards my mate and it surprised me. He did everything he could to save Bella, to keep her from anymore harm. When the building shook once again he shielded her. Her arm still got crushed by a rock, but I could feel how sorry he was. He blamed himself for not protecting her better. He loved her too, whether or not he wished to admit it.

"Bella," I spoke quietly. "Can I ask you a question?" She shot me her amusement and I thought back. She had asked me this same thing a while ago and I shot my mouth off at her. I let out a laugh and decided to just ask my question. "Can you tell me why you like the Major?" I asked, desperately hoping she would oblige.

"I don't know," Bella blushed and I could feel her embarrassment. "He's strong and he's smart. He doesn't question things, he just does what he thinks is right, what is best. He's a protector, it's ingrained in him. I think what I like most about him is that he doesn't care." What? "He doesn't care about himself," Bella clarified. "He only cares about you and what you would want and about who you love. He's pretty selfless and I like that most about him."

She turned back into her thoughts and I thought about what she just said. I couldn't deny her, what she said was true. The Major didn't have a selfish bone in his body, he had never done something just because he could. He never took advantage of anyone or anything for personal gain. He did everything he had to for me, to protect me, to make sure that once the war ended, and it inevitably would, that I would come out the other side in one piece, both physically and emotionally. I owed him my life I suddenly realized.

Bella and I were both immersed in our thoughts that Alice and her mate were able to sneak up on us, well, they were still on their way, but they got closer to me than I would have usually allowed. I shifted and repositioned Bella in my lap, making sure I disturbed her scent for when they arrived. I leaned forward and kissed the skin below Bella's ear before whispering to her, "Alice and Leah are coming." I could feel her joy and I smiled. She didn't make a move to get off my lap and I smiled wider.

"What are you doing up a tree?" Leah spoke, looking up at us confused. I allowed Bella to answer.

"Plotting revenge," she said simply and Alice frowned.

"The Denali's are here," I told her and Alice smiled.

"Did the sister's try and hit on Jasper?" Alice asked knowingly and Bella frowned.

"No," Bella spoke, "and they better not."

I could feel Alice's confusion.

"Garrett's here," I told her and she started smiling again. I had told her all about Garrett one day when she was asking about my human life. She let out a squeal and then she was gone. Leah began to follow, but I stopped her. "You better stay here," I warned her and I could feel her confusion. "There's six unfamiliar vampires in that house, add that to the seven you already know, and that equals a bad fucking idea."

"There's six unfamiliar vampires in the house?" she asked me and I could feel her concern. Good. She needed to stay away. "I cannot let Alice go in there unprotected." And then she was gone. I let out a sigh and I shifted Bella off my lap.

"Do you have to go?" she asked me, full on pouting.

"Yes," I smiled sadly at her. "Aside from there being too many vampires in one house, some of them unfamiliar, you do not want to add a young werewolf into that. Leah's already triggered by anger and her mate is in there. If the slightest thing sets her off, well, let's not think about that." I pulled Bella onto my back and raced to catch up with Leah, following her into the house. All vampires turned their attention to Leah and turned up their noses before growling.

"Bella, dear," I spoke and I could feel her annoyance. "Shield Leah."

She did what I told and shielded Leah, everyone calmed down instantly. Bella raised her good arm and was about to smack me across the face, but I managed to catch it.

"Now, now, Bella," I told her seriously. "I do not need you with two broken arms. You have your method."

She smiled at me and before I knew it Rose had hit me hard, but I managed not to even flinch. I couldn't, not in present company.

"I can't wait until I'm a vampire," Bella glared at me. I kept my face blank, but I sent her my happiness, I couldn't wait either. I would relish the day she would finally be able to hurt me, to bite me. My happiness turned to lust and Bella cocked her eyebrow at me, right, so not the time. I turned my attention back to the others. Leah had gone over to Alice, who was on the couch next to Garrett, Kate was on the arm of the couch. Leah was seated at Alice's feet and had her head resting on Alice's knees. It really did remind me of a dog. I was glad they were getting along. Alice began running a hand through Leah's recently chopped hair and I could feel her contentment.

I surveyed the rest of the room, but there was nothing of importance going on. I grabbed Bella's hand and dragged her over to the couch opposite Alice. I sat down and pulled her into my lap. She put her shield around us and spoke. "I miss Charlotte," she told me and I frowned. I missed them too, but I couldn't face them, not right now, and I knew they wouldn't be able to face me either.

"I miss them too," I replied and I could feel Leah's eyes on me. She was under Bella's shield, she could hear us. I didn't mind, she was Alice's mate and Alice's loyalty was to me.

"What do you think they're doing?" Bella asked as she played with the hooded green sweatshirt.

"I think you know the answer to that better than I do," I accused her before reeling my feelings back in.

She frowned, but spoke, "No, I just mean in general, you know, the simple things."

"You don't want to know how they spend their time," I told her and I felt her hurt. I sent her lust and she quickly understood. Yeah, that's right.

I had accidently kept the lust flowing and I could feel Leah's lust in return. My head shot up and I prayed that she wasn't looking at me and my mate, she wasn't, thank god. She had turned her head towards Alice and was nuzzling her legs, getting closer and closer to... Shit. I quickly pulled back the lust and sent Leah some calm, she seemed to snap out of it and I could feel her confusion. I briefly wondered why my lust didn't affect Bella in the same way, but just one look into her eyes I could tell that it did, she was just better at resisting the urges.

"Carlisle, my old friend," Garrett spoke, drawing everyone's attention to him. "Tell me of your family. When we first met you were alone, hanging out with Alistair, who I will admit I have never seen again." I could feel Carlisle's amusement at that. It was hard to remember that Carlisle had been alive for over three hundred years and that he had only had a family for only almost one hundred of those years. I didn't doubt that he had a lot of friends and allies. "When I ran into you the last time you had your mate Esme, your son Edward, and Emmett and Rosalie. What happened?"

I could feel Carlisle's happiness and pride.

"I opened up my heart further," Carlisle told him, smiling. I was enjoying his emotions, he was so happy right now. "Alice and Jasper found us in 1952. We moved around every decade and only just arrived back in Forks six months ago. Not long later we found out that Jasper was mated to Bella. Alice found her mate Leah whilst visiting Bella on the nearby Indian reservation. And Edward just recently met his mate Bree, whilst we were fighting an army of newborns for Bella."

"Wow," Garrett whistled impressed. "You really don't know how to have a quiet life do you? Tell me more about Bella, Leah, and Bree."

"Bree and Leah are simple," Carlisle spoke and I could tell everyone was listening intently. "Bree was a newborn turned for war. She was on the enemy's side, but once Edward saw her, smelled her, he saved her. Leah," Carlisle began, but stopped. I could see Leah stiffen. "She is not human, but I cannot tell you what she is as it's not my story to tell. Now Bella, what do I say about Bella?" I could feel his pride, so I projected it to Bella and she shifted uncomfortably. "She is the only one who can tame the Major," Carlisle began and I could feel Garrett's shock. "She is human, yet she has already exhibited a gift, which you all know and can see, it's her shield." He didn't mention her other gift at all and I was thankful for that. "She just, I don't know."

"Carlisle, you're at a loss for words. I've never seen that before," Eleazar spoke up and I could feel Bella stiffen.

"Punish him," I whispered to her. "Teach him a lesson." Okay, so maybe I was a bad influence on her, but I wanted her to have her revenge.

"When you first met me and I felt nothing?" Bella questioned me. "Was that a feeling?"

I thought about it, I guess it was. It was a feeling to me.

"Possibly."

"Send it to me, I want to try something." I frowned, but I could feel her confidence. I sent it to her and I could see her struggling with the feeling, but she managed to shield herself. I watched as she pushed her shield out and put it around Eleazar, but nothing extraordinary happened. Bella was frustrated, and she pulled her shield back before Eleazar could pick up on it. "Can you feel my shield?" Bella asked me.

"Yes, it has a strength," I admitted.

"Do you think if I extend my shield you can, I don't know, project a feeling to follow it?" she was confused, but I think I could understand what she was saying.

"I'm not sure," I admitted truthfully, "but we can try." I grabbed Bella's hand in my own so that I could draw off her strength. I felt for her shield and once I felt it's power I sent the feeling to it, soaking it in worthlessness and hollowness, deadness. The shield faltered just like Bella did. It was trying not to let the foreign blackening emotion affect it. Once it settled down, Bella extended it and I sent the emotion with it. She shielded Eleazar again and this time it worked. He felt the deadness and no sooner, he was on the ground, dead, but he wasn't really dead, he just thought he was, everyone did.

Everyone rushed over to him and I could feel Bella's malice with happiness mixed in.

"Pull your shield back, Bella," I warned her. "He's learned his lesson and I do not wish for you to be killed because of this." She accepted and pulled it back. Eleazar took a deep breath and sat upright, he was confused. Bella only had him under the shield for a few seconds, but it was enough. Everyone was still fussing over him, wondering what happened.

"What happened?" someone asked, I didn't care enough to acknowledge who.

"I don't know," Eleazar seemed out of breath and completely rattled. "I thought I had died, everything went black, and then nothing. Death."

"That's for revealing my gift when you shouldn't have," Bella spoke clearly and calmly. I saw Eleazar's face pale and everyone else took a step back from her. They were feeling fear. Bella turned her attention away from them and focused on Leah. "How's Charlie?" she asked and I could feel the other's shock.

"What happened?" Irina asked confused as she walked back into the house. Where had she been?

"Nothing," Eleazar said shakily as he stood up with the help of Carmen. I'm pretty sure he was keeping his mouth shut because Bella was currently glaring at him, just daring him to speak out of turn.

It didn't matter though because Irina saw the exchange.

"You!" she spat at Bella, Bella ignored her. "I'm glad I called the Volturi and told them about you."

Everyone gasped again, I shook my head at her stupidity before gauging Bella's emotions. She was fine. Bella's phone beeped, but she didn't check it, she just stood up and pulled me with her.

"We've lost the element of surprise," I told Bella. I really wanted to face the Volturi on our own terms.

"We haven't lost anything," Bella reassured me before turning to the others. "Jasper and I are off to Volturi. We will settle this misunderstanding."

"Do you want us to come?" Carlisle asked. "I know Aro, I lived with them, perhaps I can help."

"It's not necessary," Bella told him kindly, "but thank you for offering."

"I would go, but I've managed to avoid the Volturi all my life," Garrett said proudly. I sent my gratitude to him.

I had a feeling we were going alone and that is the way Bella had planned it.

"What are we going to do?" I asked Bella. I really wanted to know.

"We're going to be able to leave Volterra in one piece," Bella said sadly, dodging my question. "Just follow my lead, my mate, and everything will turn out how we wish." Bella was still keeping me in the dark, but I knew that she must have a good reason to. "Don't worry," Bella whispered to me, even though the others could hear her clearly, "everything will be revealed once we get there." That thought calmed me down and I sent her my acceptance. We were going to face the Volturi as mates, side by side, and we were going to win? I just hoped luck was on our side.

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><p><strong>AN- **The meeting with the Volturi is next. Who's excited? I'm excited!

Review and tell me what you thought


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing :) I reply to all of you. A big thank you to 'Guest' as I cannot reply to you, just know that you're awesome, and thank you for the kind words.

We're going to start this chapter off with Irina's POV so that we can see her decisions/motive behind calling the Volturi, plus you'll see exactly what she told them. Then we'll go back to Bella and Jasper and I'll make sure they are in Volterra, as we don't want any further delays.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>Irina's POV<strong>

I closed my eyes and I could still remember my mate, Laurent, but every time I thought about him my heart broke in two. He had died, a week back, and the pain still crushed me. The only reason I was still here was because of her, the Shield. I didn't understand everything, Laurent had told me it all, but it never really made sense. Apparently his coven leader had sent him away a couple of years ago, something to do with a pet. Laurent didn't want to leave his coven, but he knew he couldn't disobey his leader.

Laurent came up North and we came across each other. We fell in love and I could feel the mating pull, but I dismissed it. I didn't want to be tied down to anyone, but he never gave up. We grew closer, but I still kept my distance. We hid our relationship from my coven because I didn't want my sisters to know I had finally settled down. A member of Laurent's old coven came looking for him one day and they went off to speak quietly, when he came back he seemed to be torn. I coaxed him and he opened up to me.

He told me that her name was Victoria and she was James' mate. James was his coven's leader. She was upset about his pet, who she believed was a shield. She was jealous that the Shield was taking James away from her. Victoria had tried to kill the pet with venom poisoning, but was apparently interrupted by an angry James. He forced her away and told her never to come back until he sought her out. Victoria wanted Laurent's help with her revenge, she wanted to build an army. She had already changed someone, a boy, but she wanted Laurent. Laurent denied her, but had to promise her that he would be by her side when it came to the battle. I didn't like that, but I understood it. Loyalty.

Life settled back down and a year passed. I secretly hoped that we were free. I was planning on introducing Laurent to my coven, but then Victoria showed up again, she said it was time. I told Laurent I wanted to help out, but he denied me. He went off with Victoria and she told him her plan and then he came back to me. He told me that Victoria's mate, James, was dead and now she was going to kill the Shield. She was going to avenge her mate. I just wanted the Shield to die so that life could go back to normal.

Laurent left a week back. Victoria told him to scout the area the Shield was in and report back to her. I kissed him farewell and I promised him that as soon as he returned I would introduce him to my sisters. He unwillingly left my side. He didn't want to go and fight, he knew it wasn't his battle, but he left me anyway. Things went fine and I went back to the house. I just stood by the window and looked out, never moving. And then it happened. I felt his pain and his fear, but before I could even do anything it was gone. He was dead. He had been killed and I couldn't keep my emotions in. I screamed out in pain and my family surrounded me.

I slowly made my way back to myself, it took days. I was dead set on revenge. My family tried to help me, to ask me what happened, but I couldn't tell them. I met Victoria once more the following day and she told me of Laurent's death, saying the Shield's mate was involved. I let out a growl. I wanted to hunt her down. Victoria convinced me to stay put. I knew she just wanted this kill for herself. She told me of her army and her numbers. I had no doubt that she would win. We made a plan to meet back here and she would tell me of the Shield's demise, she never returned. She had been killed also.

I went back into my black hole, just wondering how I was going to find the Shield now. I just wanted to avenge my mate. He didn't want to fight, he shouldn't have died. My family rallied around me, even though they didn't know what was wrong. Another day passed and nothing changed. Eleazar thought some familiar faces might help me, so it was decided that we would visit the Cullen's. This made me smile, I always like the Cullen's.

We left within the hour, making our way South to Washington. Once we were in Washington I thought I could smell my mate's scent, but I dismissed it. Even if it was his, he was dead anyway. We made it to the Cullen land and slowed down. We didn't want to surprise them. As we neared we could sense a foreign vampire, Garrett. I always liked Garrett, everyone did. We came up and the door was already open. Eleazar stood in the doorway, picking up on their conversation. I hung back. Garrett asked, "What are you?"

Eleazar answered, "She is a shield." And then nothing. Everything turned back. The Shield was here, she was here. I needed to kill her. I knew I couldn't face the Cullen's, I would not survive and I didn't know which side Garrett would fall on. It wasn't worth it. I would surely be killed before I killed the Shield. "Kate, no," I warned as I saw her step inside towards the Shield. The Shield was mine. She didn't listen and I looked up, my eyes finally landing on the Shield, she was human. Human! A human killed my mate? I was outraged and then I realized. A human knew of our existence.

I stepped away quietly and moved out of earshot, before calling the Volturi. She would be killed for this and I wouldn't have to lift a finger. I waited impatiently as it rang.

"Hello," a bored voice spoke.

"I need to speak to Aro, tell him it's Irina Denali and he will want to hear what I have to say." I could hear the human let out a groan before putting me on hold.

"What?" Aro snapped at me.

"I have information," I spoke quickly. I didn't want to be discovered making this call, plus Aro scared me to no end. I didn't want to upset him. "I have found a human who knows our secret."

"So?" Aro countered back, not giving anything away.

I needed to entice him. What did he like more than anything else? Gifted vampires. The Cullen's held many gifted vampires. Were they her family, her protectors? What about her mate? The one who killed Laurent. I suddenly wished I had stayed around long enough to find out. I was so stupid, so quick to react. Aro was waiting. I had to answer him, so I lied as much as I could.

"She lives with the Cullen's," I spoke and I could tell that I had his attention. "And Eleazar said that she was a shield."

"The Cullen's have a human pet, my, my," Aro said and I could tell that he was pleased. "Thank you for this information, Irina. May I ask why you are telling me this?"

"The Shield is the reason my mate is dead, she needs to die, and so does her mate."

"A mate, she has a mate? What an interesting human, no wonder Carlisle stole her for himself. I cannot kill the Shield," Aro spoke with finality, "but I will allow you to torture her, especially if you help us in capturing her, and in turn her coven, the Cullen's." I frowned at that, I liked the Cullen's, I didn't want them to die or be captured. I agreed anyway. I figured I could warn Carlisle, or something. I would save them somehow.

"I will help."

"Good."

I hung up the phone and walked back to the house. Slipping back unnoticed. When I came back I noticed Eleazar on the ground, he seemed out of breath. What had happened? The Shield spoke. She had done this, and all because Eleazar had revealed her gift. "What happened?" I asked. Surely the human shield hadn't done this all on her own. "Nothing," Eleazar brushed me off. I saw the Shield glaring at him. She did this. She killed my mate.

"You!" I spat at her, but she didn't even acknowledge me. "I'm glad I called the Volturi and told them all about you."

Everyone gasped, but the Shield didn't even react, this annoyed me. Did she not know who the Volturi was? Surely not, she was too calm. She stood up with her mate and my eyes fell on him, it was Jasper. I saw his scars clear as day and they screamed at me. Jasper was her mate? But he was a fierce fighter, he never lost. I knew then that I was dead. They wouldn't allow me to live, but then the Shield spoke. She had sighed and told everyone that her and her mate we're going to Volterra to settle the misunderstanding. What misunderstanding? She was human and she killed my mate, her mate killed my mate... Jasper killed my mate, but why? I was so confused.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"See," I told Bella as we caught sight of the castle. "The Volturi are stupid. Castles are stupid."

She let out a little laugh and I pulled her closer to me. Her shield was around us tightly, nobody could sense us, but we couldn't sense anybody else either. The Volturi won't be expecting us to come to them, so we should be able to arrive undetected.

"What do you have against castles?" Bella asked me and I was glad she was feeling lighthearted, especially seeing as the looming castle was getting bigger and bigger the closer we got to it.

"I don't know," I admitted truthfully. "Perhaps something from my childhood."

"Well, I'm with you," Bella shivered next to me, she was cold. I didn't hesitate. I pulled the hooded green sweatshirt off and gave it to her. She pulled it on, it always looked better on her. "That castle is just cold and scary, no wonder no one likes the Volturi. At least they're in Europe though, otherwise it would stand out like a sore thumb."

I laughed and then redirected her to what needed to be discussed.

"Do you remember everything I told you?" I asked her and I could feel her annoyance, it made me smile.

"Yes, three king's. Aro is basically the leader and if he touches you then he can see all your memories and thoughts. I should be able to shield my mind and possibly be able to show him only what I want him to see. Marcus can see the bonds between mates and he had a great love once, but he lost her. I need to un-shield him at some point so that he can see our bond. I bet it's strong."

"Marcus' power is like mine," I told Bella, "there's a strong chance that he will see our bond regardless, especially seeing that his power is not a threat to you. Leave him be."

"Caius, the third ruler. He has no special abilities, but he is ruthless. He has a mate, his wife, Athenodora, we may be able to appeal to him via his mate if necessary."

"Good, the guard," I prompted her.

"Jane and Alec are twins, their powers are offensive. Jane can inflict the illusion of pain and Alec can deprive you of all your senses. Both gifts won't get through my shield and you can replicate both of them, you already have." I felt her pride towards me. "Chelsea is not a threat, but she can form false bonds between vampires. If I can shield her, cut off her bonds I can send the Volturi into a head spin, everything will fall apart, but this will be a last resort as we do not wish to overturn them. Felix is strong and Aro is his maker, he will never defect. Demetri is a tracker, but his power works on sensing the minds of others, my shield will protect us.

"Heidi is not to be underestimated, she has a will about her, she can get you to do things you wouldn't normally do. My shield should protect me, but I need to be wary of her. Afton has the power of mental invisibility, but with my shield I will be able to see him. You won't be able to see him, but you should be able to sense his emotions. Afton and Chelsea are mated, so we should not kill either of them. Santiago has no powers, but he is strong and fast, smart too. Corin has the ability to make people feel content, but I doubt we will even encounter her. I suspect Aro uses her to keep people from leaving him, much like he uses Chelsea."

"Good, good," I sent her my pride. "And the most important one?"

"Renata," Bella said as she let out a breath. "Renata is a shield, like me, but different. Her shield is just physical, not mental, whereas mine appears to be both. She may have a mental shield that she doesn't know how to use, so I need to keep my guard up. She is Aro's personal bodyguard, so we will need to incapacitate her if it comes to a fight. She uses her shield mainly by mentally invading another's mind and making them stop in their tracks. My shield will protect me, but if we are similar I will need to learn to do that in the future, it sounds like fun." It did sound interesting, as long as Bella never used it against me. "But for now I should be able to shield you from her shield."

"Good." We were almost at the castle and I was glad Bella had remembered everything I had told her about the guard and had even come up with some plans of attack if it came to that.

"How do you know all this about the Volturi?" Bella asked me as she grabbed my hand in her own. "I doubt this is all public knowledge."

"It's not. I gathered it all on my own. The most important thing you need to remember, Bella, is that you need to know your enemies fully. You know how they work, their strengths and their weaknesses. Once you do they are easier to manipulate and easier to defeat. How do you feel right now with what you now know about the Volturi?"

"Good," Bella answered, "confident." She wasn't lying, it was good that she was confident.

"Let's do this then." I dropped Bella's hand and we slipped through the gates.

Bella dropped her shield from around me momentarily, we had planned this. There were humans everywhere. I took a deep breath, getting their scent into my mind. My eyes went black and I let them stay this way. I could feel Bella's strength and I drew from it. I took another breath, it was mouthwatering. I allowed my bloodlust to take over me before I pushed it aside. Bella re-shielded me and we continued on our way. We didn't know how much Aro knew and we weren't going to implicate my family at all, so my eyes would stay black with hunger, not gold.

We walked side by side through the castle grounds, not touching. I had a blank look on my face and I didn't have to look at Bella to know that she had a frightened look on her face, it was all part of her plan. We made it to the castle and I stopped, looking around the corner. Their human assistant was busy, being preoccupied with Felix. I made sure Bella's shield was up and we easily slipped past them. We turned corner after corner, heading for the great room. I was glad I had memorized the layout of the castle years ago. We made it to the door and Bella let me out of her shield for a second, just enough time for me to sense how many people were in the great room. There were none, so I stepped forward and quietly opened the doors. We stepped inside and Bella gasped.

"Where are they?" she asked me under the safely of her shield as we made our way into the middle of the room.

"Who knows," I answered. "You can't expect them to be waiting for us. I doubt they're always in this room."

"Why do they have throne's?" Bella's face was still blank and she always spoke quickly in case we were interrupted.

"Because they think they're king's, that and they're better than everyone else," I spoke the truth.

"Can we sit down in them?" Bella asked and I could feel her amusement.

"No," I told her forcefully. "That is not the first impression we need to make. Just stand here, be still, and keep that frightened look on your face. I will sense the area around us to see if anyone nearby is useful to us."

Bella nodded and loosened her shield around me. She was getting better at this. I was still shielded, but she somehow allowed my gift to slip through. I sensed the vampire closest to us, it was Felix. I ignored him and pushed my shield out further. We needed the shield, Renata. She would be nearby Aro no doubt. I worked on the thought that her shield had a similar strength to Bella's and I sought it out. I came across it and I focused solely on her emotions. Once I had them on lock I sent her fear and uneasiness. They would be here momentarily.

"They're coming. Drop your shield, only keep it on your mind until we need it." Bella nodded and let it drop. I kept my face ever blank, they'd never see me react.

It took a few moments, but soon we were joined by the entire guard. Aro, Marcus and Caius took to their thrones and the others lined the walls. I didn't react, but I started learning everyone's emotional makeup, committing them to memory. I could see Bella out of the corner of my eye, looking them all over, she looked scared, but her confidence never wavered. Aro would underestimate her and that would work to our advantage. Aro waited for us to speak, but we never did. You never acted first, never, it revealed too much of your hand. Aro gave in and he gave us more than he should have.

"Isabella Swan and Jasper Hale," he spoke, "Welcome."

I was smiling on the inside, but I never reacted. He revealed too much. I had purposefully hidden my scars from view, he thought I was a Hale, one of Carlisle's kids. He didn't know about my past it seemed. Plus he called Bella, Isabella, which told me that he had researched her, but he knew nothing about her, as no one called her Isabella. We didn't speak, but Bella was playing the part of the frightened human perfectly. I could feel Marcus' wonder and hope, but I never looked at him. I guess he was gauging the strength of our bond.

Aro grew impatient and spoke again, "What can I do for you, Jasper? Do you wish for me to turn this human for you? You know that one can't be allowed to survive once they know our secret." We didn't speak. Aro was getting frustrated, but he managed to hold back. "Isabella?" he commanded and Bella broke, like she was supposed to.

"Please don't kill me, please, I didn't know about vampires. I didn't mean to know. I don't know." She was making no sense and Aro was eating it up.

"Isabella, my dear," Aro spoke. Bella internally shuddered, but it didn't show on the outside. My girl was so strong.

"It's... It's Bella," she corrected him timidly. This wasn't a part of the plan, but I allowed her to continue. She told me to follow her lead so I would.

"Isabella, I do not care what they call you," Aro growled, his frustration finally getting the better of him. Bella cowered back half a step and Aro smiled. This was all part of her plan I realized. "Jasper, you better take control of your human and tell her it is not wise to speak out of turn." I didn't speak and he was getting angry, he reeled it back in. "Isabella," he started again, but Bella interrupted him.

"You're really not going to call me Bella?" she asked in a small voice, but she had lost her frightened edge.

"No," Aro said with finality.

"O-kay," Bella stuttered before cracking her neck to the side. I knew what she was doing, I knew who was coming. "You really insist on calling me Isabella? Okay then," her voice was so strong. "Then you can have Isabella." She closed her eyes momentarily and when she opened them up her whole demeanor had changed. She glared at Aro, but didn't speak, she just turned her attention to me. She had also done this before and I knew what was coming, I didn't fight it.

"You know what I want," she whispered to me. "Don't make me say it in front of present company."

I could feel everybody's shock and concern. I leaned towards Bella and gave her a searing kiss. "Remember your plan and give them hell," I told her proudly as I allowed the Major to come forward. He stood beside me, but he took full control.

_Major's POV_

I stretched to my full height and squared my shoulders. I ignored everyone and turned my attention to my mate. "Isabella," I purred. "I've missed you."

"Now's not the time," she denied my advances and I growled. She was looking at our guests and I turned my attention to them, growling at them instead.

"What is going on?" Aro asked confused. I could feel his fear, it was slight, but no matter, that would grow soon. "Are you playing the part of a crazy vampire? We don't discriminate like the human world does."

I let out a dark laugh. He was so weak. I reached my hand up and ripped my shirt from my body, freeing my scars. I let them all whisper, let their fear spur me on.

"You have made a mistake," I spoke through my growl. "My mate's happiness is important to me. You should have just called her Bella," I let out another laugh. "Let me introduce myself," I told him, relishing the moment. "I am the God of War!" I roared at him. "I have never lost a fight, and I do not intend to lose this one!"

I gauged their emotions, but there were too many to process. They was all scared of me. They were confused. I suspected they all just wanted to run from me, but they couldn't leave without Aro's command and he was a stubborn bastard. This would be a good fight. No one would survive, I would kill them all. Then Isabella and I could rule everyone. No one would ever touch us again, they wouldn't dare. Not after we had defeated the Volturi. We would be unstoppable.

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><p><strong>AN- **CLIFFHANGER, sorry. We haven't had one for awhile and I missed them. So yeah, I guess you should review, and I will try and update tomorrow.


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing.

I hope this chapter writes itself quickly so that I can get it straight to you guys. We're going to go for Isabella's POV I reckon, because we all know she's the one running this show. Plus she will finally reveal her plans.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>Isabella's POV<strong>

I stared at my mate's fierceness and allowed him to intimidate them. I didn't need his gift to know that the Volturi guard was scared shitless.

"Let me introduce myself," the Major said, smiling like the cat that ate the fucking canary. "I am the God of War!" He roared and everyone in the room faltered, even Aro. Their faces drained of color, if possible, they were so pale already. "I have never lost a fight, and I will not lose this one!" I sent him my lust, but he didn't faltered. I studied his face, seeing the rage and bloodlust overflowing in him. I wondered how long I would let him go, a little while longer I decided as I saw Felix's face. He was so large, but he looked so scared. My mate had them all shaking in their boots.

I turned my attention back to the King's and looked at them closely. Caius was sitting there calmly. I could sense his anger and see the fear in his eyes, but he was holding himself together well. Marcus was sitting forward in his throne, observing the scene in front of him. He didn't seem fearful, he almost seemed bored, yet hopeful. His response confused me. Lastly was Aro, now he looked fearful. I guess he had a problem covering up his true emotions, he read like an open book. I could see his anger was rising and I knew I had to put a stop to my mate. We did not wish to fight, we just wanted to live our lives in peace.

"Major," I said as I turned to face him, placing my good arm on his arm. His head snapped to me, his eyes were the blackest I had ever seen them and he was pulsing with rage, hate, and longing. "My mate," I whispered to him, locking my eyes with his. "Calm down," I told him forcefully, he faltered, but then he looked at Aro and it came back full force. "I said calm the fuck down!" I roared at him and he dropped his head. "We did not come here to fight, you know this." His head dropped down further in shame and I heard the gasps from everyone else.

I placed my shield around the Major and stepped closer to him. "You're forgiven," I told him, sending him my love, he lifted his head to look into my eyes. "If I was you I would want to kill them also, but unless you want to move to Italy and run this world, then we can't do it. We just need to talk to them, show Aro the truth, and we'll be fine. If it's not fine, then we fight. Do you have any suggestions? We need to be prepared. Chelsea?"

He frowned before speaking, his voice was still rough. "We can't shield Chelsea. Her false bonds, I can feel them. They are everywhere. We shield her and everything will turn into chaos, and while I don't think that's a bad idea, I do not want to be right in the middle of it when it happens. Perhaps when we leave. We can shield her and her bonds will instantly disappear. We can finally make Aro face the truth."

"Good, we will do that, it will make for an easy getaway. And with the bonds gone Aro will be scrambling to keep his guard together that we will be off his radar for awhile. It's good, but the fight?"

"Easy. The guards line the walls, you push out your shied and throw them back against the wall, then I work my sleep cocktail into each and every one of them. A lessened dose of the one I sent Edward and we hope that they recover just in time for when we shield Chelsea. Next we _Eleazar_ Aro."

"_Eleazar_ him?" I let out a laugh at his term for our combined cocktail of death. "I like it."

The Major smiled back and started purring. I sent him my affection.

"Switch the plan though," I told him. "We _Eleazar_ Aro first and then when the guard attacks out of confusion we'll leave Aro to recover as we deal with the guard. If Caius or Marcus are stupid enough to attack we'll _Eleazar_ them too."

"Agreed," the Major snarled, getting some of his anger and lust back, not bloodlust, but lust for the fight.

"Stay calm," I warned him. "First we talk, and we only fight if needed."

He agreed grudgingly. I knew it would turn into a fight. Aro had now witnessed the power of my shield, he could tell that it was powerful especially for a weak human. He would never allow us to leave, but I could do some damage control first. I unshielded us and turned my attention to Aro.

"I am a human," I told them, dropping my shield completely, so that they could all smell my scent. Everyone's eyes turned from red to black. I shielded myself back up. "The Cullen's did not tell me about vampires, that decision was taken completely out of my hands." Aro looked confused. Now came the hard part. I had to show Aro all about James and Victoria whilst I kept a close lock on all my other memories. I couldn't allow him to see the future. "Aro," I spoke as I stepped towards him, holding out my hand.

He smiled in return, and his face became excited. He really needed to learn how to control his emotions, or at least learn how to not let them show up on his face. I walked closer to him, but stopped a few feet from the steps that led to his throne. He grumbled, but left his throne and walked down to meet me. I made sure my shield was in place as he grasped my hand.

"I can't see anything," Aro replied, half amused, half annoyed.

I closed my eyes and focused hard. I could do this, I was Isabella. I was the one who manifested this shield, I was the one who knew how to control it. I took a deep breath, bringing James to the front of my mind and solely focusing on that, and then I pulled back my shield, letting him see it all, as I narrated it to everyone else.

"Two years ago I came home from school to see my mom tied up to a chair. There was a man there and he told me that if I came with him willingly he would spare my mother. I agreed, I had no choice. He took me away and locked me up in a basement. Months passed and he eventually told me the truth, that he was a vampire. He told me that he took me because my scent intrigued him. He told me that he couldn't change me until I was sixteen due to Volturi law, so I just had to wait, for two years. I escaped, but he was a tracker. I escaped again, but his mate Victoria caught me and forced her venom down my throat." I made sure to show Aro exactly how the venom made me feel and I could see the understanding in his eyes. "James caught her and I never saw her again, until recently." I allowed him to see a glimpse of the fight with Victoria, showing him my mate in action, fighting off a group of newborns.

I shielded myself back up, but didn't let go of Aro's hand. "James died and I was free. I moved in with my dad and I began the long process of healing myself. I met Jasper and the Cullen's, and they helped me heal. I never told them James was a vampire, or that I knew what they were, not at first. When I could no longer avoid it I told them the truth and when an unfamiliar vampire began hunting in the area I told them about Victoria. Victoria had created an army of newborn vampires, she was set on killing me. We faced them." I brought the memory to the front of my mind and unshielded it. "The battle went as planned and we won with no causalities. No one survived." I managed to keep Bree and Edward out of my thoughts. I also shielded Bella's plan to save the newborns, it wasn't successful, so they didn't need to know about it.

"It's the truth," Aro announced to everyone in the room. "May I ask you a question?" Aro asked me.

"Of course," I told him as I took my hand back and stood next to my mate.

"How did you break your arm? Was it due to a vampire?" Aro was definitely up to someone, but I smiled, my answer wouldn't be what he wanted.

"No. I was at school and I got caught in a mudslide. My arm unfortunately got crushed by a piece of fallen debris, but don't worry, Carlisle pieced my bone back together himself."

I could sense his jealousy and I smiled wider. I knew he must hate Carlisle. He probably hated everything about him, his control, his diet, his family. Carlisle didn't need false bonds to keep his family together and this must piss Aro off so much.

"When will your arm be healed fully?" Marcus asked me, surprising my with his question.

"Soon," I smiled, glaring at the cast. "Carlisle had to screw my bones back together with metal, but that means I don't have to wear the cast as long. I don't know what will happen to the metal once I change into a vampire though, perhaps I'll become like Wolverine."

"You do plan on becoming a vampire then?" Marcus asked. "Because under the circumstances I'm sure we could make an exception."

"Marcus!" Aro growled.

"Yes, I do," I replied, ignoring Aro's outburst all together. "The venom Victoria made me ingest is slowly killing me and I have decided to change into a vampire when the time comes rather than facing death. All I wish is to be able to live with my mate in peace for eternity."

"Okay," Aro announced, clapping his hands together to get everybody's attention. "I can see now that Jasper and the Cullen's have done nothing wrong." I was hopeful for a whole second that this wouldn't end in a fight, but then he spoke. "Jasper you are free to go, Bella you can stay here until you wish to be changed. I can't have a human out there knowing our secret." I could see that the other's didn't agree with him, but they didn't dare go against him.

"That's your only offer?" I asked him and he nodded his head, smiling maliciously, he thought he had us. "Let it be known that we didn't come here to fight, know that Aro has forced our hand."

"You're going to fight us?" Aro asked, smiling wide. "You two against my whole guard? Well go ahead, you have my permission."

Okay then. I grabbed my mate's hand as I caught gaze with Marcus, he was the only one who seemed scared. I smiled a small smile at him before focusing on Aro. I could feel the Major coating my shield with his dead cocktail and once it had taken shape, I pushed it out and surrounded Aro. And just like Eleazar, he fell to the ground, dead. I didn't have time to enjoy the moment though, because as suspected we were charged. I pulled my shield back from Aro and extended it, knocking the guard back against the wall. I watched on amazed as my mate knocked them all out, one by one, all except Chelsea. I looked at him confused, but he just smiled at me.

"Run!" he growled at Chelsea and she took off running. I smiled at his antics.

Aro was still on the ground, but he was slowly coming back to the world.

"We never wished to fight," I told Marcus and Caius once again and they nodded their heads, they were completely shocked. "No one is dead, they will all recover... this time. My mate and I will be leaving now and you will never see us again. We are exempt from your laws. The Cullen's are our family, so you will leave them alone as well. If you disobey any of this then we will kill you.

"Marcus," I turned my attention to him. "Things will change when we leave and you need to be strong. Don't let Aro manipulate you, not anymore." He looked confused, but as soon as we got the false bonds to break he would understand.

Aro was finally coming to and I wasn't done with him yet.

"What happened to me wasn't fair," I told him as I looked down on him. "Vampires should not be allowed to do what James did to me, it's not fair. Your laws are stupid and selfish. You can't just tell a vampire not to turn a human under the age of sixteen, you need to be more specific. I have decided that the world is too big for just one group of vampire rulers." I saw his face pale. "My mate and I will rule the Americas, you and your guard can have the rest of the world. Life will get hard for you very soon, Aro, and I hope you get what you deserve." The rest of the guard were finally coming to, we needed to leave. "Stay out of the Americas, Aro, or you will find yourself dead. Marcus, make sure you let your followers know that they are welcome on our land any time, as long as you clear it with us first. Once we get settled we will fill you in and perhaps you will like to adopt some of our laws. Thank you for seeing us," I directed at Aro. He was so angry, but I could see the defeat in his eyes.

I jumped up on my mate's back and he took off running. I managed to shield Chelsea and the bonds must have dropped because Aro's roar, or whine really, was so loud that it echoed throughout the countryside. We didn't stop though, we kept on running until we had left Italy and were in Germany. The Major pulled me off his back and growled before checking me over, I allowed him to. He knew I was fine, we were both fine. Once he convinced himself, he grabbed my hand within his own.

"Thank you," his gruff voice washed over me. "Do I really get to rule the Americas with you at my side?" he asked excitedly.

"Of course. As soon as Bella and Jasper accept us as their other halves and not as separate people."

"Jasper is close to accepting," the Major grunted.

"As is Bella."

"What is Peter doing?"

"Building our fortress, my mate," I reached up and kissed him, sending him my love.

"No castles?" he asked and I smiled.

"No castles," I agreed.

"We need to let them come back," I told him sadly, but firmly. "Only Bella and Jasper can make us whole again, but we can't push them, they need to do this on their own."

"Soon," the Major accepted as he nuzzled my neck. "Just sit with me for a while, you're so happy and content right now."

I allowed him to pull me over to a tree. He sat down and pulled me into his lap, running his nose up and down my neck.

"Why are you so perfect, so smart?" he asked. I had no answered.

"Because I'm your mate," I finally settled on.

"I can't wait to rule the world with you by my side. You have given me purpose my mate and I love you so much for that."

_Bella POV_

I relished the Major nuzzling my neck before I spoke my true fears.

"What will Jasper think of all this?" I asked him and I had no doubt he could feel that I was scared.

"Bella?" he asked and I nodded my head. He pulled away from my neck and turned me around in his lap. "I love you, Bella."

"You-you love me?" I asked him confused. "I thought you said you didn't. I thought you only loved Isabella."

"I did, I do, but you're just too damn perfect for me to love only one of you. I can't wait for us to become whole. I want to live my life with you and Isabella as one."

"That means you have to live with Jasper as well," I teased him and he grunted.

"It's a small sacrifice to make. I'm sure I can knock the stupid out of him."

"I'm sure you could, but what about him, what will he think? I don't want to doom him like Maria did. I did this for us, so that we didn't have to look over our shoulders ever again, so that I could set things right, so that I could make sure that no human ever suffered the same fate as me. I did it so that we had purpose, so that we didn't have to repeat high school over and over again. I want excitement in my life, I want to be a fair ruler who is admired by all. I just want to live my life peacefully with Jasper by my side, with you by my side."

"That's all I want as well. Jasper might take some time to get used to this, but he'll come around. He wants purpose in his life more than anything and this will give it to him. Just be patient with him and let him have his little hissy fits if he does. He likes arguing with you," the Major admitted to me and I smiled. I like arguing with him too.

"Do me a favor?" I asked.

"Anything."

"Stay with me. Hold Jasper off from making an appearance until we're back home. I just want to leave Europe. I will deal with his, hissy fits, later."

"Okay," the Major accepted easily, but soon I knew why. He leaned forward and gently brought his lips to mine, I hesitated momentarily, before deepening the kiss. The Major kissed different from Jasper and I enjoyed the feeling of his roughness. It seemed like he was trying to be soft, but he was completely failing. I doubted he even knew what soft was. His hands moved to my breasts and I allowed him, just enjoying his roughness, but when he went for the button on my jeans I reluctantly pulled away.

"No," I told him sternly and he glared playfully at me.

"I guess Jasper gets to be first," he accepted knowingly.

"Maybe," I replied standing up. "Who knows, you might be there are well."

"Oh, I hope so. Are you sure I can't convince Jasper to join us as one sooner?"

"No, but if you're at the same stage as me and Isabella then he would have heard this whole conversation."

"Good," the Major declared.

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><p><strong>AN- **There we go. Bella's plan has been revealed. They are set to rule the Americas (meaning North and South America for those of you who didn't realize that), but how will Jasper react to this news when he was happy to play the part of a teenage son who went to high school with his siblings? We'll find that out in the next chapter.

Review.


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing guys. I hope you all liked the last chapter and the direction this story is now going in.

Now it's time to see if Jasper will have a hissy fit or not.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>Major's POV<strong>

"I don't want to leave you," I admitted, quietly, hoping that she didn't hear me, but she did.

I looked into Bella's big brown eyes as she placed her soft, warm hand on my cheek.

"We will see each other again," she told me with a promise, but I shook my head.

"No, we won't. Not like this. I doubt Jasper will get in anymore trouble before we are merged, so the next time I see you we will be one."

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked me and I had to think about it.

I liked being my own person, but I hated living in the shadows. Would being one with Jasper really be a good thing, or would I simply just be following his lead?

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "Can I kiss you again?" I asked hopefully. "One last time?"

"Sure," Bella told me and I could feel her admiration, lust, and hope. "But no trying to get in my pants this time." I let out a small growl and she shivered. Her lust surrounded me, it felt so good.

I leaned towards her and grabbed the back of her head, knotting my fingers gently in her hair. I pulled her towards me, our lips met, and I kissed her softly, as softly as I could manage. She started moaning and it fueled me on. I kept the kiss light, but passionate. I wanted her to remember me as a gentle soul just in case I got completely lost in the merge. I kissed her for as long as I was able, until she ran out of breath. I pulled back reluctantly and she smiled sadly at me. I didn't want to go, but I would. She needed Jasper, not me.

"Goodbye," Bella whispered and it really did sound like a goodbye. I tried to ignore it. I gave her one last smile and then I retreated for most likely the last time. Jasper wouldn't let me take over fully again, I knew this.

**Jasper's POV**

I came forth and I felt different. Watching the Major with the Volturi, watching him with Bella, something struck me, he wasn't a monster. Everything he did, he did for me. I think I realized this before, but it never really hit me, not like this. I blamed him for so long, I hated him. I thought he was ruthless and uncaring, but he was the complete opposite. He only ever came forward when he knew that I couldn't handle the situation. He was protecting me, saving me from myself. Just as Isabella did for Bella. He was just me, a part of me, not a separate being. We were the same.

_About time Fucker, _he hissed at me, but it was different. He wasn't in the back of my mind watching me anymore, he was now with me. It was hard to explain. Like a conscience I guess, voices in your head. We were now joined and it felt good, I felt good. I could feel his power and strength, I could feel his compassion. I could even feel his ruthlessness, but it meshed in well with my own feelings. We became whole. I looked up at Bella. I could feel our love for her. I wondered if her and Isabella had joined yet, but it didn't seem like it. I could still feel her conflicting emotions. Perhaps I had fast tracked my merge because of my superior vampire senses. I decided that, for now, I would keep the merge a secret, just until my mate became one with herself.

"Jasper?" Bella spoke quietly, gently. I could feel her panic.

"Yes?" I questioned back.

"Did you... Did you hear my plan?" she whispered, but I heard her clearly.

Her plan? Her plan to rule the Americas, for us to rule the Americas together. I did hear that and I didn't know how I felt. I knew she was right. I knew that it would offer us protection, it would make us untouchable, but I was scared too. I had lived under Maria's command for so long. I knew this would be different, but I had my reservations. I didn't know if we would be able to do it, if we would be successful leaders, fair. Would anyone even follow us? What about enemies? What if we were attacked?

I looked at Bella and I could read her fear. She was afraid that I wouldn't agree, and then I realized that it didn't matter. I would blindly follow her wherever she went because she is my mate. Her fear increased the longer I stayed silent. I wondered how I should answer her. The truth was my best option I decided.

"I don't know if it is a good idea," I told her and I could feel her anger rising, "but I trust you. I know that you, and Peter for that matter, wouldn't go ahead with something like this unless it was the best decision for everyone involved. I will follow you, Bella, to hell and back if need be. But first, please tell me what you saw, the dream of the future that led you on this path."

She smiled and I could feel her happiness, it was so pure. I let it surround me.

"Okay," she accepted simply, no arguments, no dodging. "It was of the future," she started dumbly and I could feel her embarrassment. "It was our wedding day. I don't know if it was a traditional wedding, I suspect not because I don't want one of those, perhaps it was the vampire equivalent. I don't know. All I know is that we were all at some big castle and we were very happy. Everyone was fussing over me, treating me like a queen. You were off with the boys, hunting I guess, some kind of a bachelor party no doubt. I was so happy and so in love. I'm not sure if I was a vampire, it switched constantly, like it didn't matter if I was a human or vampire at this point. But there was one big reason I did all of this. I loved the safely and security I felt. I loved that I seemed to be the 'queen' of all these vampires. But mostly, it was because of Charlie. He was there, with us, and he was so happy. Sue was by his side and he was smiling, actually smiling. I don't remember the last time I saw him smiling. I just knew after that dream that everything would be fine and that I had to do whatever was necessary to cement our position in power, without losing our free will."

Wow, okay then. I needed to process this. Her emotions throughout that whole spiel were completely positive and I had never felt that from her. Sure she had been happy and excited, but her past and her situation always snuck back into her mind and I could feel her negative emotions once again. But just then, nothing, no bad, just good, pure good. Bella deserved to be happy after the life she had, and if this would do it for her, then I was completely on board.

"I'm with you, Bella, whatever you need," I smiled at her and I could feel her happiness and contentment. Something from her spiel finally registered in my mind. "You saw us in a castle?" I asked her confused. I thought we weren't going to have a castle.

"Yeah," Bella answered embarrassed. "I think my brain thought that was the best fortress, but no, no castles."

"Good." I could deal with that. Next I remembered her whole castle conversation with me and the fact that she had told Peter to build something like the White House, but cooler. My mate, always one step ahead of me, or well, a million steps ahead of me. "How far along is Peter on our fortress?" I asked her, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice. Surely if he was using vampire labor to build it then we would be well on the way. "Can I see it?"

"Slow down," Bella smiled at me. "He has only just began. He emailed me the plans and I made some adjustments."

"Can I see the plans? Am I allowed to make any adjustments?"

"No," Bella smiled at me kindly, "I've got it covered. It's actually a surprise for you. As soon as the walls are in place I will take you to see it. You can give your suggestions then."

I didn't even care that she was taking control of the whole project, I actually loved it. I sent her my love, pride, and lust. She faltered, but shook it off. I frowned at her.

"Soon, my mate," she promised, "but first we need to head back home. We need to let the other's know that we survived and we should probably tell them about our new plans." She frowned and I could feel that she was unsure. I grabbed her hand in my own and sent her my strength.

"It doesn't matter if they do not agree," I told her. "We have given the Cullen's asylum from the Volturi. If they do not wish to join us in our fortress or join our cause, then we will not force them. They can always come to visit us, especially seeing as our fortress will only be a two states away. That is a quick run for a vampire."

The uneasiness left her and she smiled once again. I picked her up in my arms and ran all the way from Port Angeles to Forks, making sure I kept her body from the wind. The last thing we needed after our recent events was for Bella to get sick. It didn't take long and soon we were here. I sniffed the air and I was glad to see that the Denali's had left. "Irina," I hissed, she needed to pay. "Irina's not here."

"Don't worry about her," Bella told me as she got out of arms and walked into the house. She focused on Garrett first. "When you re-join Kate please tell Irina that she is free from punishment for her call to the Volturi, but make sure to tell her that if she screws up again the penalty will be death. No exceptions."

Everyone looked at Bella confused and Garrett nodded his head in acceptance. I wasn't happy that Bella was giving her a pardon, but I left it be. No harm, no foul I guess.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked as he stepped forward. "Alistair called me, which in itself is a rare occurrence. He told me that the Volturi was in ruins. Aro has been dethroned and Marcus and Caius are trying to piece everything back together. What did you do?" I could feel his pride and his fear. I allowed Bella to answer.

"We told Aro the truth, we told him that we wanted to be left alone, and then we left."

Carlisle frowned and I shook my head at Bella's version of the story.

"When Aro wouldn't let Bella leave, we did to him what we did to Eleazar. The guard charged us so I hit them with a sleep cocktail." I could feel Edward's panic and then he shivered, he was clearly remembering when I did the same thing to him. "We made our demands, they agreed, well they didn't argue, and then we left. When we left we Bella shielded Chelsea and all the false bonds Aro had forced her to make broke. We didn't stick around to find out what happened next."

"Jazzy!" someone screamed and before I could even process it, vampire speed and all, Bree had launched herself at me. "I'm glad you're back, don't go away ever again."

I pulled her out of my arms and I could feel her hero worship towards me, damn it. I hated when this happened. You give the newborns one ounce of direction and they attach themselves to you like the plague. This was always a double edged sword, I couldn't dismiss her, not when she had to rely on my to become a better vampire. I could feel Bella's amusement, the others were just feeling confused, except Edward, he was feeling hurt. Well, that's what he gets.

"Bree, calm yourself," I said sternly and she listened.

"I was talking to Carl and he was telling me why he hunted animals instead of humans. I want to try it. Bear said he would take me, but I would like you to come also."

"I can't come," I told her, I needed to distance myself wherever I could. "Take Edward with you."

"But he's weird," Bree whisper shouted. I managed to hold back my laugh.

"He is your mate."

Bree's face became disgusted. "Are you sure?"

Was I sure? Yes. God, this was not my problem.

"Give me your hand." She did so with only a small amount of fear. I held her hand within my own and sent her all the love, affection and lust Edward felt towards her when he looked at her. I made sure she got a good dose of it before pulling it back. "That's what Edward feels for you."

"Hey," Edward defended weakly, but his heart was not in it. I bet he was thankful that I was helping him and asking for nothing in return. I felt his embarrassment and I knew he had heard me.

"But you need to hunt, your eyes are black," Bree tried to argue.

"Enough!" I shouted at her and she cowered away from me. "Take Edward and Emmett with you." I turned away from her.

"Do you need to hunt?" Bella asked me and I could feel her concern. I gauged my bloodlust and my thirst for it and I found that I was fine. Bella's blood seemed to keep me satisfied for longer I found. I shook my head, sending her how I felt, my feeling of fullness and my content. She dropped the matter.

I briefly wondered if I could live off Bella's blood, but I quickly dismissed it. My eyes would eventually turn red and once she was changed I would have to pick a side, humans or animals. I would hunt soon I promised myself.

"I'm glad you're back," Rose spoke as she stepped towards us. "And that you're not dead." She smiled at Bella.

"Where's Alice?" I asked, noticing that she was not here.

"The Reservation, where else?" Rose responded. "She's spending time with Leah and her family. I saw her the other day, she was happy, she was free, no longer burdened by her gift."

"Good, good." I was glad that Alice finally had some peace.

"What demands did you make?" Esme asked, I could feel her worry.

I didn't want to answer her, but it seemed as though Bella didn't want to either.

"Bella told Aro that..." I wasn't afraid to tell them, I was just afraid of how they would react. Thankfully Bree, Edward and Emmett had left. Edward was still missing his arm, I'd have to remember to give that back to him soon. With Alice on the Reservation all that left was Carlisle, Esme, Rose and Garrett. Surely I could tell them. "She told him that we, Bella and I, would rule the Americas and that they could have the rest of the world."

Everyone was feeling shock, confusion and doubt, except Garrett, he actually seemed happy, excited even.

"This is good news," he proclaimed. "Can I join your guard?"

I was not expecting his offer at all and it shocked me, thankfully Bella answered.

"We're not going to have a guard," Bella told him and I could feel his disappointment. "But I have plans for you Garrett, big plans. How would you like to be the Major's left hand man?"

"Left hand man?" he questioned confused.

"Well of course Peter has the role of his right hand man," Bella laughed gently and Garrett joined in.

"I can do that. It will be my pleasure to serve underneath Jasper again." Bella burst out laughing and she couldn't stop. What was wrong with her? She finally collapsed on the couch still laughing.

"Serve underneath him," she managed to get out before laughing once again. I didn't understand her amusement, but it was beginning to affect me and I smiled involuntarily.

"We, umm," Carlisle faltered, he seemed conflicted. "Congratulations?"

"Thank you, and don't worry about it, Carlisle. You are not obligated to join us," I told him. "Just take some time to process this."

I was distracted by my mate. She was still laughing and it seemed she couldn't stop. It felt good, it made me feel free. I was so happy to see her let her guard down enough to feel like this. It made me feel so proud of her. She had come so far since moving here. She had defeated her demons and she was actually looking forward to the future, a future which she helped create. It was like a drug. I soaked up her feelings, let them overcome me.

"Excuse us," I told the others before picking up Bella and running up to my room. I needed to be alone with her.

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><p><strong>AN- **I don't know why but this chapter was a pain in the ass to write, I don't think my mind could focus at all today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Review and if things go back to normal you will get another update in less than 24 hours :)

See you all tomorrow.


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N- **Thanks for all the reviews. My story now has over 1,000 reviews, I can't believe it, so crazy. And it's all thanks to you guys. Please know that I read and try to respond to every single one of them :)

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

As soon as we got into my room, I laid Bella on the bed and just held her tightly to me. We made idle chit chat, but I could feel her exhaustion. Her adrenalin had finally worn off and everything caught up to her. She fell asleep in my arms. I watched her for a little while, making sure that her sleep was a pleasant one, before sending myself a sleep cocktail. All I wanted was to sleep next to my mate, and it would do me some good as well. Hopefully as I slept the Major would cement himself in my mind, truly making us one. I guess I'd see once I woke up.

I woke up later. I didn't know how much time had passed, but Bella was still sleeping soundly. I carefully untangled myself from her warm body and got out of bed. I stood up slowly, reaching my full height and squaring my shoulders. The Major, I automatically realized, he had made his move. I could now feel him throughout my whole body and mind. It wouldn't take long before he made his presence known to everyone else I suspected, but it no longer bothered me. This was just me, the new me.

I walked over to my desk and sat down. Open in front of me was the journal I had given Bella. It seemed so long ago, but it had only been a month. It was still open up on her last page, the page that held the word MONTANA. I assumed this is where our fortress was being built, nestled near the Rocky Mountains no doubt. I flipped to the front of the journal. I traced my fingers over her name, remembering when I wrote it, how I hoped that this journal would help her heal. I flipped to the next page, it was completely shaded black. The darkness surrounded me. She was so broken.

I continued to flip through the book. Her random drawings faced me with each turn, there were no words though. I hit the page she had drawn in the very spot where I sat right now. Her drawing of the Confederate flag blowing in the wind, it still looked beautiful and so genuine. Next I flipped to the picture of me. She had a unique way of drawing and it just stuck out. I remember thinking, and realizing, that I was indeed beautiful when I first looked at this picture, and that was still true. You could still see the hardness I held, but I looked peaceful.

I flipped to the next page and that's when it started. The whole page was filled up with words, Bella's words. I flipped ahead and pages after pages were filled with her words. I read it all quickly, taking it all in. It was Bella's plan. How she was going to convince the Volturi to let us rule the Americas. Attacks that could be used. There were extensive rules for vampires to follow under her command and then there were punishments. I quickly noted that her punishments didn't fit the crimes, she was too weak, too lenient, which surprised me seeing as what James did to her. It didn't matter though, all this was, was words on a piece of paper, they were not set in stone. I would educate her.

I focused on another page. It held all the Cullen's names and possible roles for them. This confused me, I was unsure if the Cullen's would join us, and even if they did I'm not sure they would be of much use. Her dad's name was on the page under the role of _Justice_, I didn't know what she meant by that. Charlie was a good cop, fair, but would he be suited for a job amongst vampires. I was banking on the fact that Bella would be the only human in our guard... Not guard, and clearly not family... In our hierarchy, but she said she saw Charlie with us and this made her happy. I guess he would be there with Sue and her kids, Leah and Seth, this would make Alice happy. Truthfully I could see the use of Emmett's toughness and Rose's ruthlessness, and I would take Alice in just so that I knew she was safe, but the other Cullen's, aside from having Carlisle as a specialist, I didn't see a need for them. Perhaps they would never join us. It wasn't my decision to make I decided.

"What do you think?" Bella asked me still half asleep. I didn't even sense her waking up.

"It's a solid start," I told her, sending her my pride. "We will need to nail down our hierarchy and see if any old friends of Garrett's and Carlisle's would like to come on board. We need to cement ourselves as a powerful, but fair group, otherwise we will be challenged. Once our hierarchy is set we will need to work together to polish the rules and regulations, and then send out messengers to spread the word. It will be a long and tough start, but I think we can do it."

"Why don't you come back to bed?" Bella teased me as she pulled the covers off herself, revealing her body to me.

"Can't," I answered and her face fell. "Your dad is here."

"Charlie's here." Her happiness and excitement skyrocketed and she was out of bed in a flash.

"Calm down," I told her and her head snapped to me. "He has been here for awhile, he's teasing Bree actually."

"What?" Bella asked confused as she made her way over to me and sat on the corner of the desk facing me. All she was wearing was her underwear and one of my old dress shirts that I somehow missed when burning all my old clothes. I didn't care though, because as usual, Bella wore it better. "My dad?" Bella prompted me.

"Yeah, he has a sweeter scent like you, but now that he's with the wolves, well it changed slightly. Bree must be sitting near him, I keep feeling her bloodlust and when it's just about to consume her his wolf smell hits her and I can feel her disgust. It's pretty amusing."

"We can't leave him down there with her, she's a newborn vampire remember."

"Oh, I remember." How could I forget? "There's five other vampires in that room, Bella, your dad will be fine. Get ready and we will head downstairs."

She gathered all of her things and I smiled when she went into the bathroom across the hall all by herself, she didn't even use her shield. I just stood up and waited for her. She came back fully dressed with damp hair.

"Here," she told me as she handed me the hooded green sweatshirt.

"Do I still have to wear this?" I asked her with a groan. "Shouldn't we wash it? It probably smells so bad." I lifted it up to sniff it, but all I could smell was Bella's scent.

"No, don't wash it," Bella told me forcefully. "It smells fine to me, especially after you wear it."

"I hate it," I told her, staring at it.

"Wear it for me. I like to be surrounded by your scent, it calms me."

"I can calm you," I told her as I stepped towards her and pushed her up against the wall, sending her little trickles of calm. Oh yeah, the Major was definitely here, and I liked it. "See, you don't need this." I threw it behind me and it landed on the bed. I heard her gasp. "If you want to smell like me I can think of another way to achieve this." I pushed her harder against the wall, making sure that the full length of my body was touching hers. I bent down and licked her neck before purring in her ear, she shuddered underneath my touch.

"We can feel your severe case of blue balls from here," Emmett spoke quietly, "Reign in your lust and come downstairs before I cut Charlie's arm open and let Bree lose."

I pulled away from Bella and let out a growl. That fucker would do it too. I could feel Bella's questioning gaze.

"We are wanted downstairs." I sent her my disappointment, she mirrored it.

We made our way downstairs. I hated that we got interrupted, but it was probably for the best. Bella was so close to accepting my body and the pleasure I could give her, but she still wasn't there. It would be soon though, I could feel it. We hit the bottom of the stairs and Charlie stood up, frantically looking over Bella. He calmed down once he saw that she was fine.

"Dad," Bella smiled widely before running over to him and bringing him into a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Bella," he held her back just as tight. I basked in their emotions. "How did it go? Did everything work out like you planned?" So Charlie was in on her plan as well, figures.

"Better," Bella answered as she turned and smiled at me, I smiled back. "How are you and Sue?"

"Good, really good actually. I feel so at home, Bells. Seth and I went fishing the other day, it was great. Plus I have two new daughters. Leah and Alice have been struggling with their differences, but they're getting there and it's so good to watch. I just wish my baby girl was with me also."

"Soon, dad," she promised him and his happiness grew.

"I actually came for a reason," Charlie said as he pulled away from Bella. I could feel her confusion and concern, I was next to her side in an instant. "Carlisle called me, he told me that you have an x-ray scheduled for your arm."

She did?

"I do?"

"Yes," Carlisle said, stepping forward. "We need to check and see if it's healed enough yet. The plates and screws will have aided the process, but it will be good to check it out and see. Plus this way I should be able to give you an exact date for when we can finally take that cast off."

Everyone just stood there.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Bella asked them, excited, impatient, and nervous. "Let's get this x-ray done. Can we take your car?" Bella asked me.

"I don't own a car," I told her and she frowned. "I own a motorbike." I could feel her lust spike, but before she could say anything Charlie spoke up.

"Bella, you are not riding on that thing, and, Jasper, I now know that my shovel reference won't work on you anymore, well I guess it never worked on you, but I want you to take that shovel and imagine Bella in your place instead." I actually paled and it wasn't for show. The image of Bella spread across the road all because I drove too fast was just too much. I shuddered at the thought. I was not going anywhere near that bike with Bella on it.

"Dad!" Bella stomped her foot. "That wasn't fair. Jasper, don't listen to him. You'd be careful, you'd never hurt me."

I shook my head. No, no way, that thought was still too fresh in my mind. "We will take Emmett's Jeep."

She wasn't happy, but that changed when she noticed that Charlie and Carlisle took his cruiser and we were in Emmett's jeep all by ourselves.

"I might actually get this cast off today," Bella spoke excitedly.

"Don't get your hopes up," I warned her gently. "Carlisle won't let you take it off until he's sure your arm is healed and knowing him he'll keep you in the cast longer just to be doubly sure."

"Well that sucks," Bella decided her excitement fading.

"He just wants to be sure," I tried to reassure her. "Plus you don't want to re-break it anytime soon do you?"

"No," she agreed.

We made it to the hospital and got right in. I sat with Bella as she got her arm x-rayed. Carlisle developed it whilst we sat in the waiting room. I could feel that Bella was nervous.

"When did you put on the sweatshirt?" she asked me confused, clearly trying to take her mind off the x-rays.

"You're not very observant," I playfully replied. "I threw it on just before we went downstairs. I used vampire speed," I mocked her lightly.

"What happened here?" she asked as she ran her fingers over the small tear in the sweatshirt. "I've always wondered."

Charlie was listening to us closely, just observing us silently.

"Alice told me to go over to your house, three days after I met you, I didn't know why. I watched you and Charlie through the kitchen window, he was struggling, I sent him some strength. He opened up, he told you he loved you and he hugged you. Do you remember that day?"

"Yes," Bella answered quietly and I could see Charlie nodding as well, he remembered too. "I felt hope that day. You had been distant, dad," she spoke to him. "You were so scared. I knew you didn't want to upset me further, but all I wanted was you. I just wanted you to tell me that you loved me. I just needed to feel that you would be with me no matter what. As soon as I fell into your arms I broke down. I let it all out. I allowed myself to feel, to grieve, to hope."

She was tearing up, so I held her to me tighter. Charlie wasn't doing much better, but I left him be.

"Yes," I whispered to her. "You let it all out and I felt you." I could feel her shock and her remorse. I didn't allow her to apologize. "It's the strongest thing I've ever felt. I didn't know how to process it. I managed to somehow pick myself off the ground and I ran back home. I hoped that the further I got away from you the better I would feel, it didn't work. It was so painful. I wanted to be with you, to hold you, to calm you, but the Major wouldn't let me go. I scratched at my heart, it just hurt so much. Someone told me to stop, something about ruining your sweatshirt. It seemed so insignificant at the time. And then it just stopped. It was so strange to go from feeling everything to feeling nothing."

"I'm sorry," Bella spoke. "I didn't mean to force that on you."

"It's fine," I told her, "that is the first time I felt the mating pull to you, but I didn't realize this until much later. So that's how this tear came to be, I wish I had ripped it in half," I joked and Bella smiled. Good.

Carlisle came out and ushered us into his office. "Good news and bad news, Bella." I could feel Bella's concern and nervousness. "Good news is that you're healing well and we can take that cast off today." She was excited, bad move, patience my mate. "Bad news is that I will have to put another cast on you, but this was will be below the elbow, so you will be able to begin rehabilitation on your elbow."

"How long?" Bella asked, she was not happy at all. "And can I see the x-rays?"

"A few days, Bella, a week at the most," Carlisle was scared of her, ha. "Of course," he turned on the light and a picture of Bella's arm shone brightly back at us.

"Oh god," Charlie said before looking away.

Bella got up and walked over to it, I followed. There was so much metal in her arm and you could see all the screws holding her bones in place. It looked good though. I wondered how she had healed so fast, surely a shattered bone would still be healing three weeks after. Maybe the vampire venom she ingested helped her along the way, I didn't know.

"What will happen to the metal when I am changed?" She asked and I remembered her voicing these concerns in Volterra. "Will it be like Adamantium?"

"Adamantium?" Carlisle questioned confused. "What is that? I've never heard of it before."

Neither had I.

"Vampires," Charlie muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

"Adamantium is an indestructible metal alloy," Bella told us.

"I've never heard of it. How is that possible?" Carlisle was lost.

I could feel Bella's amusement.

"It's fictitious," she deadpanned. Carlisle was still confused. "Comic books? Wolverine?" She quickly gave up, muttering something about vampires being stupid. "So, what will the vampire venom do to the metal?" she asked again.

"I don't know," Carlisle admitted. "I'll do some research." He hated not knowing.

"In the meantime, I vote that it will turn into Adamantium." Bella seemed so happy and perhaps she would be right.

"I bet too," Charlie agreed and he had a child-like amusement about him. What were they talking about? Maybe I should look up this Wolverine.

"You would like Wolverine," Bella told me, "he reminds me of you, well the Major technically, and he fought in the war. World War I."

Who was this guy again? Didn't she say he was fictitious, as in, never existed. Why would I want to learn about a guy who wasn't real? I would never understand humans.

"Let's get this cast off," Carlisle interrupted this absurd conversation.

I held Bella's hand and Carlisle cut if off. He pulled it off and I could feel Bella's disgust. "Eww," she said, but I couldn't tell why. Carlisle must have understood though.

"Wash your arm over in the sink, carefully," he told her and she jumped up.

I could feel her disgust turn to pleasure as she rinsed her arm, even soaping it up. I noticed that she didn't even move it. I grabbed a towel and dried her arm carefully when she was done.

"What color do you want?" Carlisle asked her. Her last one was just plaster white I noticed. Bella was feeling excited as she leaned forward to look.

"Green," she answered immediately. I did not know why and I did not care to ask.

Carlisle worked quickly and efficiently and soon she was plastered back up. "It's waterproof," he informed her and this made Bella happy. No more joint showers for me I guess. "You can move your elbow now," Carlisle told her, but she was wary. "It will be stiff and hurt from lack of use, but the more you move it the better it will become. The only reason it was plastered above your elbow was to make sure the bones in your forearm didn't move at all."

Bella nodded and then tried straightening out her arm. She moved it a little, but then she stopped. I could feel her pain. She drew it back towards her and stretched it out just as far, the pain hit her again, but it wasn't as bad. She did about ten reps and the pain lessened with each one, but her range of movement was limited.

"Good," Carlisle praised her. "Just keep working it, little by little. I'll give you some exercises to do later to help you regain full use. Go home and take it easy," Carlisle told her. "I've got some work to do here."

Bella thanked him and we walked out of his office.

"I should go too," Charlie spoke. "I need to check in with the station, see that my replacement is doing a good job, and then I need to decide whether or not I'm going back to work. I know this won't mean much, but tell Emmett that he made a good cop. I wished we could have worked together more." Charlie was embarrassed and he quickly made his departure.

"See," Bella told me, "We can use him. He's good at his job."

"He's a human."

"So? I'm a human, and he will be living with us you know."

"I know," I admitted.

"He's not just going to sit idly by and do nothing, that's not Charlie."

"Fine," I accepted. I knew I wasn't going to win this argument. "He can be in charge of _Justice_ or whatever you called it. Emmett, if willing, can work with him, enforcing his will."

"Good. I love you," Bella told me as she continued moving her arm. "And as soon as this blasted cast comes off I will show you." She hit me with her lust. Her emotions shifted again, she was so close. Soon, soon we would be one in every way possible.

"I can wait," I told her with a growl, sending my love and lust back at her. She stumbled on her feet and I noticed that she didn't push it away this time. "Soon," I told her before wrapping her up in my arms. Soon.

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><p><strong>AN- **Review


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N- **Thank you for reviewing again, you guys are great.

Sorry this wasn't written yesterday, my brain was dead, so I decided to have a day off... And what did I do on my day off? I watched all the Twilight movies, well I still have forty minutes of Breaking Dawn Part 2 to go... So close. Haha. It was good, except for all the things I mocked.

Now to listen to Cups by Jessica Stanley... Get it, hahahaha.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

I had just drained an elk and I was walking over to Bella, who had just finished her Esme cooked lunch, when her phone rang. She answered just as I got to her. I picked her up off the rock and sat her on my lap, holding her tightly, sniffing her neck. She was talking to Charlie, but I didn't pay any attention to her, not until I felt her fear and longing, plus love perhaps. I pulled my head away and focused on her.

"Yeah, umm. He's got a game in Washington, he wants to see you, Bells. I didn't know if you wanted to. I didn't know how close you were with him, but I told him I would ask."

"Dad, I..." Bella faltered.

"It's okay, Bells, you don't have to, I'll tell him you said no."

"No, Dad, no. I want to see him. I have to see him. Phil was a nice guy, he loved Renee. He was away at a training camp when James attacked, I bet he feels responsible. I need to talk to him. When is he coming?"

"In a few days."

"Good," Bella told him.

"I'll set everything up and I'll meet him with you," Charlie promised, but he seemed sad.

"Thanks, Dad." She hung up the phone. Her emotions were conflicted, but they settled down quickly.

"Bella?" I asked as I pulled her to me tighter.

"Phil," is all Bella managed to say. I just held her, waiting for her to be ready to speak. "When I imagined that Renee was still alive, I pictured them together. They were so happy, travelling across the country. After awhile I forgot about him. I didn't know him that long before this happened, but he was always nice to me."

"It will be good to see him," I told her, sending her my love for her. "It will give him a chance to see that you're okay, that although Renee didn't survive you did."

"But I didn't survive, not really."

"It doesn't matter, and Phil doesn't need to know that."

"Will you come with me? I would like Phil to meet you. I want him to see that I'm happy."

"Of course, Bella." I kissed her on the neck and then picked her up. I placed her in my arms, grabbing her empty plate, and ran off back towards the house. I noted that we both felt better after a good meal, it had been awhile. I forget Bella is human at times.

I put Bella down out the front and handed her the plate to take to the kitchen. I entered after her and made my way into the living room. My eyes zeroed in on Edward and my anger boiled over, I didn't allow it to be contained. Someone had went against me and they would pay dearly.

"Who gave Edward his arm back?" I growled loudly, but firmly. Everyone shuddered underneath me, but no one spoke. "Who?" You just don't end someone's punishment without being told to. I never told anyone to give Edward his arm back. It didn't matter that I was planning on giving it back anyway, this was about principle. "Who?! I will not ask again! The longer you wait the worse your punishment will be. I am not opposed to torture." Everyone shuddered again and shied away from me. Everyone was feeling fear, but someone's fear was higher than everyone else's. It was Bree.

I found her hiding in the corner. My eyes locked on her and she tried to disappear further into the corner.

"Here, now!" I barked at her and she wisely obeyed me. "Why did you give Edward his arm back?"

"Because- Because he's my mate," she said, whilst looking at the ground. Her fear was suffocating, good.

"Now you claim him as your mate?! Now!" She didn't speak, wise. "You will be punished for this." She cowered in front of me. Now I just needed to find a fitting punishment, one that would be beneficial to her. She still didn't understand the rules of being a vampire, so I couldn't exactly punish her like I would another vampire. She probably didn't know just how severe it was to go against a direct order, especially an order from someone like me. "You will not leave my side until I deem you capable of being able to be a productive vampire." Well that came out weird. I didn't dwell on it. "And an eye for an eye," I warned her before I grabbed her right arm and pulled it from her body.

"Argh!" she screamed out and her pain hit me. Her pain was great, but she would soon learn that there were much painful things out there than losing an arm. She fell to her knees in front of me.

"Here," I threw Edward his mate's arm. "I expect you to keep this safe and not reattach it until told." Edward nodded numbly. He knew the rules, he would obey me. I turned my attention back to Bree. "What is my name?"

"Jazzy," she spoke without thought.

I grabbed her other hand and ripped off a finger. She screamed out again and she couldn't understand why I was doing this. I would explain it to her. "My name is Jasper. When you learn it you will get your finger back, if you forget it again I will take two. Same goes for everyone else in this room." I made sure she was paying attention before pointing out everyone in the room and giving her their names straight up. This should not confused her and if it did she would quickly learn. "That's Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Leah, Edward, Carlisle, Esme, and Bella. Learn them."

"Yes, Jasper," Bree replied, head still cast downwards. Good, she was learning. She would get her reward for saying my name correctly.

I handed her finger back to her and she went to move towards Edward. I grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.

"Don't leave my side," I warned her. "Here," I took her finger off her and grabbed her hand, "You hold the finger back where it should be, but you've got to make sure you line it up perfectly otherwise it takes longer and is more painful to heal. Vampire venom is a strange thing, you could be missing a limp for decades, but it will always reattach. The longer it is from your body, the longer it takes to heal and the greater the scar. You will have a faint scar from this. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she replied as she watched the venom do it's magic. Once it had reattached itself I let go and she examined her finger. It was as good as new. "Thank you, Jasper."

I didn't say anything, but I sent her some pride. She was doing well. I would get her corrected in no time if she kept this up.

"Jasper," Bella spoke from the doorway and I turned to face her, Bree turned with me, good.

"Yes?"

"The walls are in place. Peter said we can go check it out, make sure it's what we want."

Really? This was good news. I couldn't wait to see our fortress, sure it wasn't complete yet, but it was killing me not knowing.

"When do we leave?" I asked, smile coming across my face.

"As soon as we want. With your vampire driving it should take six hours, depending on how well you can handle yourself on some of the roads we need to take. Then when we get back I can see Phil, plus hopefully I can get this cast taken off."

I could feel Carlisle's shame, but I dismissed it. He knew Bella's arm was already healed fully, but as Bella didn't _need _the cast off it wouldn't hurt her to keep it on for a few more days.

"Good. Bree, pack a bag and say goodbye to Edward."

"But-" they both protested at the same time.

"Enough! You are not to leave my side, Bree. I am being gracious and allowing you a chance say goodbye, don't make me change my mind." That shut them up and they were in each other's arms in an instant. Bree's detached arm lay forgotten on the floor.

"Emmett, can we take your Jeep?" Bella asked him and he caved immediately. I could tell that he wanted to come with us, but he was afraid to ask.

"Everyone can see the house once it's completed," I reassured all of them. "Bella and I are just going to check that everything is progressing well."

"You can take my car," Emmett told her and Bella ran over and gave him a big bear hug. He was surprised, but he hugged her back quickly. Rose stood up and brought Bella into a hug next.

"Don't let Bree hit Jasper," she told Bella wisely. "If he's an ass just remember it and I'll do it for you when you get home."

Bella smiled at her. "I will remember that."

I ran up the stairs and started packing. Throwing some of my clothes and Bella's into a duffle bag. I grabbed her bathroom products as well, we'd probably have to find a hotel, or maybe she'd just sleep in the car. Either way I wanted her to be comfortable.

"Esme," I spoke. "Can you make up some sandwiches for us to take so that Bella won't starve?"

"Yes, dear," Esme replied and I heard her head into the kitchen. I didn't know how far away from civilization we would be, so I wanted to be safe. I finished packing and I headed back downstairs.

"Look after her for me," Edward was telling Bella, he was finally keeping his distance I noticed.

"I will," Bella replied before quickly stepping away.

"You good?" I asked Alice as she sat in between Leah's legs with Leah's long arms surrounding her.

"Yeah," Alice replied and I could feel just how happy she was. "We need to catch up when you get back. Perhaps we can go on a double date with you and Bella?" Leah let out a groan at that. "Something fun, we'll let the mortals decide," Alice amended and Leah growled again.

"I'm not a mortal," she hissed. "I'm a wolf."

"Yes, you are, baby," Alice agreed, nothing but love and happiness coming from her.

"I will talk to Bella and get back to you," I promised her. "But I think it's a good idea. I miss you, you know."

"I know," she responded and it was genuine. With Leah around she couldn't have any visions and I liked how free that made her feel.

"Ready to go?" I asked Bella who seemed to be getting a lecture from Carlisle.

"Remember the exercises for your elbow, Bella. Back and forth, and around, remember your shoulder as well."

"Will do, doc," Bella teased him before grabbing my hand.

"Here," Emmett spoke as he threw the Jeep's keys at me, I caught them easily.

"Bree," I warned. She had packed a bag, but now she was back in Edward's arms. She gave him a kiss on the cheek before dutifully joining my side. "Give me her arm," I told Edward and he passed it to me. I held Bree's arm up against her shoulder. I had to give it back, unfortunately. I didn't need any humans seeing her missing an arm. The event had been traumatic for her, so hopefully she would learn from it.

We said our goodbyes and piled into Emmett's Jeep. With one more last goodbye we left. Once I left the town of Forks and hit the highway to Tacoma, I let out a sigh of relief. We were finally alone.

"Izzy?" Almost alone.

"Bree! Hand!" I commanded her and she reached forward from the back seat and gave me her hand. She was fearful once again, but this was the quickest way for her to learn. I grabbed her middle finger and pulled it off. It seemed oddly fitting. Bella was my mate and to disrespect her was worse than disrespecting me, so why shouldn't she lose her middle finger, the one the humans considered rude for some reason. "Here," I told Bella as I threw Bree's finger at her, it was technically hers after all.

Bella couldn't move away this time and Bree's finger landed in her lap.

"Jasper, no, that is so disgusting." She managed to pick it up quickly and she threw it in the glove box. Out of sight, out of mind.

We had barely gone ten miles when Bree decided to test my limits and see if I would do what I said.

"Izzy, switch the stations," she spoke. I would teach her not to play with me.

"Hand!"I commanded and she reached forward once again. I ripped her forefinger off, the one I had ripped off earlier today. Bella opened the glove box and I threw it straight in there with her other one. I had kept a hold of her hand. "I know when you're testing me, Bree, and I want you to know that I don't stand for it." I pulled her hand forward and quickly found the bite mark on her hand from where she was changed. I didn't hesitate. I bit down on it and forced some of my venom into her.

She screamed out louder than when I took off her finger and her pain increased to where she couldn't stay upright. She laid down on the backseat. The pain didn't go away like she expected it would and she began to whimper. It would fade in time, I did not give her that much of my venom.

"Was that really necessary?" Bella asked me. She wasn't defying me, she was simply curious.

"Yes," is all I responded. Bree needed to learn straightaway that I would not stand for her games and that if she went against me purposefully then she wouldn't just lost a finger, I would give her pain. Bella accepted my simple response and we continued on. Everything went well.

Bree's pain finally ebbed away and she sat back up. I noticed that we were nearing Tacoma.

"You need to lay down when we pass through cities or wear these sunglasses," I told Bree as I reached into the glove box and pulled out my pair. I threw them back to her. "You still have red eyes and you are a vampire. One of the main Volturi Laws is that you cannot let humans find out about your true nature or even suspect, it is a death sentence for all involved. I would explain it further, but soon there will be new rules and laws, so it is pointless. Just remember that a human can never see you or your red eyes unless you intend to kill them for their blood."

I looked in the rearview mirror and saw her slide the sunglasses on.

"Living this far North we are lucky. The days are shorter and the nights are longer. We also have a lot of cloud cover," I informed her. "The sun does not harm us, but it shows that we are not human. You can get past this when necessary by covering up your skin with clothes or making sure your car has heavily tinted windows, but the best thing to do is to just stay out of it, especially if you're somewhere where humans are. If you get caught out somewhere, bury yourself underground, you don't need to breath and this will protect you until the sun sets." I could tell that both Bree and Bella were listening intently to my words, this was good. Bree would learn and so would Bella. Plus there may be a chance that she might retain some of this when she changed. The more she knew about vampire life, the better.

We continued on our journey. I told them facts about vampires and newborns whenever I could. When we were halfway there, just outside of Spokane, I stopped the car and got out. Bree and Bella followed me, I could feel their confusion. I stopped near the trees and spoke to them.

"Bree, how did your hunt with Edward and Emmett go?" I asked her.

"Good," she shuffled her feet and looked at the ground.

"You have a decision to make," I told her seriously. "You have tasted both human and animal blood and you know that you can survive on either. You need to choose one. This decision is not to be taken lightly, it doesn't do good to switch back and forth between the two, trust me I know, so you need to decide. Before you do you need to take your coven into consideration and their choices. Edward and his _parents_ are vegetarians, they only snack on animal blood. This does not mean that you have to as well, but it would make things easier. Bottom line, if you're not happy, no one else will be. What do you choose?"

"Animal blood," she answered. I could tell she was not making this choice for her, but for her mate. She seemed determined to see it through though, so I left it be.

"Good. Did Edward and Emmett teach you how to hunt or did they simply hunt for you?"

"They hunted for me," she admitted. Great, just another thing I had to teach her. At least hunting animals was simpler than hunting humans.

"Let's go." I picked Bella up and placed her on my back. She clung on tightly with both arms, her cast resting on my chest, it was rough, but I liked the feel of it through my shirt.

We walked into the forest and I kept my senses wide open, hoping to catch some deer or elk. Once I did, I stopped. "Close your eyes," I prompted Bree, keeping Bella firmly on my back, making sure her shield was in place. "Listen to their heartbeats, feel the blood pumping around their bodies. Turn towards the direction." Bree successfully turned in the right direction. "Now you're going to let your instincts take over, but not just yet.

"First listen to me. You can either snap their necks first and suck the blood out, or you can bite them and allow their beating heart to pump the blood into your mouth. I want you to try both ways today, so that you know the differences, the advantages and disadvantages of each kill method. Once you drain your first one the deer will be spooked. Tap into your natural hunting instincts and track down another one. Only come back here once you are well fed and have regained your control. Now, let your instincts take over."

Bree did as told and I felt Bella shield me as well. Once Bree took off running, Bella pulled me out of her shield so that I could observe her from afar. Everything went to plan. Bree was a little slow to track down the second deer, but that was only due to inexperience. Hunting animals was more of a game than hunting humans. There were many differences actually, but I would teach her them in time. She came back to us and I was glad to see that she was fully in control. I walked into the forest to inspect her kills. She had dragged them so they laid side by side. One had its neck broken the other one not. She did well.

"Now this is important for both human and animal kills, you need to dispose of the body so that they will not be discovered. Humans can be burned and buried, animals you just bury. You go down twelve feet for humans, six feet is fine for animals. People don't look for them and they decompose quickly. Your main goal is to make sure that no one ever finds your kill, whatever species it is."

Bella and I watched on as Bree dug a deep hole and put the deer carcasses in.

"Good, you did a great job," I praised her and I could feel that she loved that she had pleased me.

We went back to the car and continued on our way. Bella ate one of Esme's sandwiches before doing her arm exercises. We hit a town called Kalispell, it was in Montana and right near the base of the Rocky Mountains. I stopped to fuel up Emmett's jeep and to allow Bella to use the restrooms. I sent Bree with her, making sure she kept her hands covered by her shirt, she did have two missing fingers after all, and we didn't need the attendee questioning us. This would be a good test for her. I kept a close eye on them. Bree kept her sunglasses on, covering up her red eyes. They were hassled by the man at the counter, his feelings of lust hit me, and I could hear him trying to befriend them. I knew I could be there in an instant if needed, so I stayed put to see how Bree and Bella would handle themselves.

"What are you two girls doing all the way out here all alone?" the man asked them, keeping his voice soft and friendly.

"We ran away from home," Bella told him, her voice quiet. "We were just wondering if we could use the restroom."

"Of course, but let me come with you, the lock likes to stick." His lust and deceit increased, but I still left them be. The restrooms were outside. I stood by the Jeep, my back to them, and focused on the pump. The closer they got to the restroom the more his lust increased. He unlocked the door, but not before muttering under his breath, "this is my lucky day." I heard him and so did Bree. I could feel her anger boiling over.

I was with them instantly. I grabbed Bree's shoulder. "Watch and learn," I whispered to her. I stepped back, so it just looked like I was approaching them. "Come on, hurry up," I said, tightening my voice. "We need to get back on the road."

The man turned around and faced me and I could feel his fear, but he wasn't backing down from an easy victim. "Who are you?" he asked, but directed it at Bella.

"That's Bree's brother," she spoke and I was glad that I was not her brother. The man faltered, sizing me up. He wisely backed down.

"There you go, all open," the man said as he stepped away from the girls and handed me the key to the bathroom. "Just return the key when you pay for the gas."

I nodded at him. I could feel his disappointment, but he was no longer a threat. He was only acting on his lust because of the unique opportunity. This gas station didn't seem to get much business.

"You cannot let your anger overtake you," I told Bree as Bella went into the bathroom. "Anger clouds your judgment and forces you to make poor decisions. You will need to learn how to control it. You would have killed the man no doubt once you realized his intentions, but that would be wrong. Firstly because this is a small town and a disappearance in a small town is not something you ever want, everyone knows everyone here. Second is because you have chosen to drink animal blood, so even if you could resist his blood after killing him, it would have just been a waste. He is the type of guy you would kill if you drank humans, but we don't, so we leave him be."

"What if he attacks another girl?" she asked me, she was confused and still angry.

"We can't control everything, Bree, least of all humans. Bad things happen every day and there is nothing we can do about it. We live in the vampire world and that is the world we must try and make better, or alternatively you can look to Carlisle as an example. He pays back to the human world not by seeking out the bad, but by righting the bad things done by those people. He doesn't kill humans, he saves them."

I could tell I had given her a lot to think about, so I stopped talking and let her process everything. Bella left the bathroom and once I got them both safely in the car I went to pay the man. Something Bree said stuck with me though, what if he did do this to someone else. I knew I couldn't do much, but maybe I could try. I had heard that humans could be scared into doing something, or not doing something, I wondered if that would work for him.

I walked in and pretended to look around first. As I did I made sure to look like as much of a threat as I could, and when I felt his fear spike, I sent him more, fueling him on. I waited until he was visibly shaking with fear before I slowly backed it off, approaching him. He was still under my influence as I paid for the gas. I pulled up my sleeve and he noticed my scars. His fear increased. "Have a nice day," I told him before getting my change and leaving him all alone. When I got back to the car he was out of my influence completely, but he was still scared.

"Forgive me god," we heard his choked voice. Good, he was remorseful. I could feel some understanding come from Bree. I caught her eyes in the rearview mirror and nodded at her. Bella didn't seem to care about the man at all. I took off. We just had to drive through the Rockies and we would be there.

"It's so beautiful," Bella said in awe as we made our way through the mountains. We seemed so small in significance to the giant mountains towering over us either side. I wondered if this road would become closed off during the winter months, I'd have to look into it.

We came out the other side and Bella directed me to go right, heading away from Canada. There was no road and the terrain was rough, but Emmett's jeep seemed to handle it. Peter must have carved out this path. I'm sure we would build a better road somewhere where the humans wouldn't notice it. Peter. I suddenly became nervous. The last time I had seen him and Charlotte was when I tried to kill them. Would they still hate me? Would they be scared of me?

Bella rested her hand on my knee and I noticed that I was projecting.

"You'll be fine, they're your family," Bella reassured me, but I wasn't so sure.

We made another turn towards the mountain. I noticed that a lot of trees had been removed to make room in the forest, and a gigantic structure stood out. It had no walls, but the frame's were in place.

"Wow," Bree spoke and I could feel her amazement. I had to agree.

It looked so impressive even though it was only the bones of it. I could see right through it to the back and it stood just far enough away from the base of the Rocky Mountains. I got out of the car eager to get a better look. Bella came up to me and grabbed my hand.

"It still needs a name," she told me and I didn't even have to think about it.

"The Whitlock Ranch," I told her and I could feel her pride.

"I love it," she said, her happiness and love washing over me. "Let's go and see it."

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><p><strong>AN- **Next up Bella and Jasper inspect their fortress, or should I call it The Whitlock Ranch. Plus Peter and Charlotte are back, well Peter is, not sure about Charlotte at this stage.

Review.


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N- **Thanks for all the reviews.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Allow me to be your guide," Peter spoke as he approached us, his head cast downwards, hands clasped firmly behind his back. I wanted to speak to him, to apologize, but he never lifted his head. He walked us up to the ranch house and we stepped inside. "There's four floors," he told us and I looked up. It was hard to visualize it with no solid walls, but it was definitely grand. "We also have a basement." His head finally lifted, but only to glance nervously at Bree.

"Bree," I spoke and she turned towards me. "Bella is going to shield you, don't be alarmed. Feel free to look around, but please stay close and out of trouble."

"Yes, Jasper. Ah, Bella, can I please have my fingers back now?" she asked.

Bella turned her attention to me, but I ignored her. This would be her decision to make.

"Sure, Bree, but if you say my name wrong again it will be three fingers and double the amount of time to get them back, understand?"

"Yes, Bella."

Bella waited for her to go and retrieve her fingers before shielding her. As soon as she shielded Bree I could smell Bella completely and my eyes turned black. Damn my mate smelled so good. I turned my attention to Peter, but he seemed fine. I noticed that his eyes were bright red, so he must have fed recently. I closed my eyes and pushed out my gift, trying to sense if there were any other vampires in the area. There were none, good.

"Where do you hunt?" I asked first. This was important. I knew a lot of our hierarchy would be human drinkers and they needed a safe place to hunt.

"Calgary, Canada. It's a straight trip up North and we are able to use the mountains as cover the whole way there. If you're heading South, Boise, Idaho is a good place to stop. For emergencies we have Spokane, Washington to the West."

"Good work." That really was a load of my chest. Calgary was a large city and would work perfectly for us.

"Now the basement," Peter got back to the topic at hand. "There is one floor on the plans. It holds the usual, holding cells, torture chambers, etcetera. There are two more floors below, but no one knows about them and they never will, except those who can be fully trusted. The second basement floor holds our assets and vehicles. There is an escape route that takes you underground straight to the road and you can take one of the cars. The whole floor is completely reinforced, no one can get into it when we're locked down without us knowing. The third floor, well..." Peter trailed off looking at Bella.

"You can speak freely in front of her," I told him. "She will be ruling by my side, so she needs to know everything."

"The third floor is a kill room, for the times we need to kill a problem vampire without anyone knowing. It has a state of the art furnace. It also holds rows and rows of cells to hold vampires who have committed serious crimes that can't be punishable by death. Or for those troublesome vampires." Bella paled at all this, but she needed to know that ruling the Americas would not just be a walk in the park. We were going to have problems and we were going to have enemies. "Those floors are finished. I would show you, but you brought a pet with you." He looked over at Bree again.

"Explain the top four floors."

"The bottom floor will be grand, showing off our wealth and power. I don't know if you can see, but this house is basically a 'U' shape. The side to our right, all of the floors, will be for you and those closest to you. The rest of your guard will reside in the left side. Everyone will get their own space to do whatever they want with. Right above our heads will be a common room where everyone can mingle. Your side of the house is what I really want to talk about though."

He walked over to the right and we followed him.

"You can't see it now, but visualize," Peter told us, walking to the back of the house. "You're room will be up there, in the back corner, as Bella is still human it will be fully equipped with a working bathroom and kitchen, everything she will need. The room will be completely reinforced, just like the second floor of the basement. It's a panic room of sorts, but no one will know this. It will hold your personal study, Jasper, and a security room. The house will contain discreet video cameras both inside and out, so you will be able to keep an eye on everything from here."

"Good, that's good. What about the chambers?" I asked him. Peter seemed to be on top of everything and that was definitely a good thing.

"I'm glad you asked." Peter turned and walked away, we followed. "I assumed you wanted to do things different to the Volturi, so I came up with something special." He led us out the back, it was a huge courtyard. The high walls of the house on each side, but the back was completely open. There was a brick courtyard that led to grass, and then beyond that was the Rocky Mountains, or more specific, the base of Mt. Field. "This is one of my favorite places," Peter told us as he walked out onto the already paved brick courtyard and stood in the middle of some star mosaic, it looked like a detailed compass. He turned around and faced the house.

Bella and I turned with him and she let out a gasp. Up above on the second floor stood a balcony. It was high enough to be separated from the courtyard, but somehow it didn't look imposing at all, I don't know how Peter managed it. I looked around, just imagining standing on the balcony, Bella at my side as we gave out our rulings. Peter to our right, Garrett to our left. It would work out well. I grabbed Bella and jumped up on to the balcony, setting her down. We walked to the edge and looked down at Peter. It was a good height, Peter was close, but not too close. Even Bella's human ears and eyes would be able to see and understand everything that was going on, and that was paramount.

"One more thing," Peter told us and we joined his side. "This," he said as he motioned down to the compass design in the bricks. "Where's Bree?" he asked. I sent out my gift to find her, she was in the trees to the right. Peter looked in the direction and once he was satisfied he turned back to us. "This is another need to know secret. He stepped down with vampire speed and force on the center of the compass and then jumped back. Bella and I watched on as the compass opened up, just long enough for a vampire to slip through and then it closed again.

"Another escape route," Bella spoke in awe.

"Yes," Peter agreed. "I dug a tunnel, it goes straight from here, right under the Rockies and comes out on the other side. It's the perfect escape route and can only be opened if you apply the right amount of speed and force. It's basically an uncrackable lock.

"This is good, Peter. I'm proud of you." He finally lifted his head and met my eyes. He was guarded. "I'm sorry," I spoke to him. "I let my emotions overtake me. I just wanted to avenge Maria, I know now that it was a stupid choice."

"I forgive you," he told me, but kept his distance. I knew we wouldn't be good until he called me 'fucker' once again, but I screwed up majorly, I failed him, so I would wait until he was ready.

"Where's Charlotte?" I asked, wondering if she had stayed away because she couldn't forgive me yet.

"She's recruiting," he told me and I frowned. "I got Garrett and Carlisle to send us a list of potential guards. You will have the final say of course, but we will need a guard soon. I estimate a week at most for the construction to be finished. Then I say we let the girls loose to do all the interior design. We'll do your room first, so that you can move in, then we'll work on the other rooms in order of importance. As soon as it's done we will need our guard in place, and then we will send messengers out to spread the word of the change in power."

"You've got it all figured out, don't you?" I asked him and he nodded his head. "Good, I trust you, Peter, keep up the good work."

"Thank you, Peter." Bella smiled at him and her phone beeped. "Charlie," she told me as she brought up the message.

"Bree," I called out. Bella had dropped the shield from around her and covered herself back up. Bree was at my side in an instant.

"Charlie said that Phil will be there sooner than expected. Apparently once he knew I would talk to him he took an earlier flight. If we leave now we should be back in time to be there when he arrives."

"Good, then we will go, but one thing, Peter." I could feel his nervousness. "Can you make a wraparound porch, complete with balconies on every level? Just like that house we camped in just outside of Austin in 1894." He smiled and I could feel his happiness.

"I'm on it."

We said our goodbyes to Peter and he said he would call us when the construction was complete.

"So what do you think?" I asked Bella as I made it back to the road.

"I like it," Bella smiled, "It's going to be a great home and a great fortress."

She was right. I reached across the console and took her hand in mine. The drive back was uneventful. We stopped briefly in Tacoma to fill Emmett's Jeep up again, but the girls stayed in the car this time, and soon we were back home.

"I'm going to call Charlie," Bella told me, leaving my side. Bree stood by me. I could tell that she wanted to run off and hug Edward, but she didn't move.

"Go ahead," I told her. "You have two minutes." I knew I wouldn't take her with me to meet Phil, so this would be a good test for her to see if she would obey me and only spend two minutes with her mate. If she succeeded she would be rewarded.

"How does the house look?" Esme asked me.

"Good," I answered. "Peter's hoping to have construction completed in a week and he's hoping that you, Alice, and Rose, will help with the interior decorating."

"I'd love to." I could feel Esme's love and happiness. I left the room in search for Bella.

I found her up in my bedroom.

"No, an hour is fine. Jasper and I will be waiting at the diner for you two."

"Okay, I'll see you then, Bells."

"So?" I asked once the call had been disconnected.

"Charlie is on his way to Port Angeles to pick up Phil and we're all going to meet them at the diner. We decided that a public place was probably for the best."

"Yeah," I agreed. "So when do we leave?"

"Can we go now?" Bella asked me and I could feel her nervousness. "I just want to be there, maybe get something to eat while we wait."

"Whatever you want." I grabbed her hand and opened up my bedroom door. Bree was standing there, just waiting. Good, she listened. We walked down the stairs and Bree followed. "Edward," I spoke and he looked up. "Bree has been following my orders well, so I am intrusting her into your care whilst I go out. Rose will keep an eye on the two of you and report any infractions back to me. Understand?" He didn't speak, but nodded his head. Bree didn't make a move to leave my side, she was learning. "Be with your mate until I return," I told her and she didn't need to be told twice.

"Jasper?" my mate asked me and I could feel her mischievousness. "Can we take your bike?" My bike? I frowned, the image of Bella spread across the road came back into my mind, but then it shifted. I could see us arriving at the diner safely. Was Bella manipulating my mind now? Making me see things that weren't there, like Renata could do? It did seem like she was planting thoughts into my mind and I knew I couldn't have that. I wouldn't allow her to know that she could manipulate me like that, it was too dangerous.

"No, we will take a car." She frowned, confused, thinking that her manipulation hadn't worked at all. "You can choose which car and you can drive, well, if you think you can manage it with a broken arm." I could feel her resolve and determination.

"Okay," she accepted, "but one day we will ride your bike together and you'll see that Charlie was wrong." She was very determined, maybe one day I'd give into her, but not today.

Bella chose Rose's convertible and it took as about thirty minutes to get there because Bella was driving so slow. She was lucky I didn't take over. We walked into the diner and we were still early. We sat at a table in the back corner, waiting for a waitress.

"Oh my god, Bella?" Someone's excitement overtook me and I looked up into the eyes of Angela Weber. "It is you."

"Hey, Angela, good to see you," Bella smiled at her.

"The school told us that you were sick, are you feeling any better? You look better, much better, you're talking and smiling now... Sorry, that was rude of me. I'm glad you're better."

"So am I, and it's not rude. I don't think I was ready for high school after everything that happened to me, so I'm taking some time off."

I could feel Angela's understanding.

"It's good to see you as well, Jasper."

"Likewise," I smiled at her.

"So are you and Jasper together now?" Angela asked and I could feel her embarrassment.

"Yeah, we are," Bella answered. "What about you and Ben? You liked him right?"

"I can't believe you remember that. Yeah, I asked him to the dance and he said yes."

"I'm glad," Bella smiled at her. "I missed you, Angela, thank you for being my friend."

"No problem, Bella, oh shoot, what can I get you to eat?" she grabbed her order book and pen out of her back pocket.

"A burger and fries," Bella answered and I could tell that she was hungry.

"Got it. And Jasper?"

"Nothing for me," I answered, sending her some acceptance so she wouldn't question me and she didn't.

"Okay, I'll go put the order in."

"That was nice," I told Bella, staring after Angela.

"Yeah," Bella agreed, "but you didn't need to manipulate her emotions."

"You caught that?" I asked her confused. "How?"

"I don't know, I can just sense it." I smiled at her, would she ever do something human? Probably not.

The bell above the door jingled and Bella's head shot up. I could see Charlie and another man, and I could feel Bella's love, longing, and pain. She waited for them to approach us.

"Bella," Phil breathed out and his emotions relaxed instantly. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Bella didn't waste any time. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around Phil, he hugged her back.

"I'm so sorry, Phil. I tried to save her, I thought I was saving her."

"Shush, Bella," Phil tried to calm her down. "This was not your fault. When they told me about Renee I thought you had died as well. I'm so glad you're okay. Sorry it took me so long to visit, but I wanted to make sure you had settled in with your dad. How are you? Are you okay?"

"I am now," Bella responded, pulling out of the hug and sitting back down. "It was rough in the beginning, but I found my way."

"I'm so glad. Is that Renee's necklace?" Phil asked and Bella pulled it away from her neck, ever since I had given it back to her she hadn't taken it off.

"Yeah, Jasper found it for me."

"That's the necklace I gave her," Charlie spoke quietly and I could feel his awe. "I didn't know she kept it."

"Of course she did," Bella spoke. "She gave it to me when I was younger, but that day she insisted that I wear it. I lost it, but Jasper found it."

"Are you Jasper?" Phil asked me.

"Yes, sir," I reached across and shook his hand. "I'm Bella's boyfriend." I could feel Bella's confusion and happiness at my admission. We never defined our relationship and we were so much more than boyfriend and girlfriend, we were mates.

"Jasper was actually the one who helped bring Bella out of the darkness," Charlie spoke and I could feel his pride and thankfulness. I ducked my head away from him.

"Well thank you, son," Phil spoke and I didn't even attempt to read his emotions fearing that they matched Charlie's. "I'm glad Bella has you."

"Thank you, Phil," Bella smiled at him.

"Here you go, Bella," Angela said as she handed her plate over.

"Sorry I ordered, I was hungry," Bella was embarrassed.

Charlie and Phil dismissed her, just ordering something for themselves.

"Jasper?" Phil asked concerned.

I was about to speak, but Angela beat me to it, "Jasper already ate," she lied for me. I would never understand that girl. Her emotions were always so pure and lacked all things considered to be negative.

Bella and Phil caught up, she told him about living with Charlie and me, and he told her about his promising baseball career. I could feel Charlie's pride as he watched Bella eat her burger and fries no problem. He caught my eye and I smiled at him.

"She's doing good," I told him quietly. "Basically back to normal."

He turned his attention back to his daughter and just smiled at her. His hope was overflowing him.

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><p><strong>AN- **Review if you can.


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N- **Thank you to the person who wrote me a review in Portuguese? It was my first ever non English review I believe. Thank you to all of those who also reviewed in my native tongue English.

Sorry for non daily updates. I'm working on my next novel, but you should get updates every second day, if not every day. It depends if I can get on a good schedule or not.

I made a new cover photo thing for this story. I wanted Jasper to look a bit more fierce seeing as he's now one with the Major. Bella's the same, because she's human. When she becomes a vampire I might change it again.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Where's Bella?" Esme asked me as soon as I walked in the door.

"Spending time with Phil and her father," I answered.

"Oh, right, of course." Esme was embarrassed. "I forget she has another home. I'm just used to seeing her every day."

"I know what you mean," I agreed. Bella had basically moved into the Cullen house over the past couple of weeks. She loved her father and Phil though, so this would be good for her. Hopefully this would be the last piece of her puzzle and when she came back to me she would be whole again.

Bree appeared at my side. She took a little longer than expected, but once I felt her frustration and lingering feelings of lust, I let it slide. I guess Eddy was finally getting laid. "Hey," Edward hissed at me. _You don't have to listen, Edward_. I reminded him. I knew that Bree wasn't feeling the mating pull to Edward due to the confusion in her brain. Being turned for war, well it fucks you up. But it seemed the more direction she got, the clearer her feelings towards Edward were becoming.

"Where's Izzy?" Bree asked and I didn't hesitate. I pulled off three of her fingers swiftly, giving out Bella's punishment, and shoved them in the pocket of her jeans. I could tell that she was sorry, but it was too late for that.

"Keep them on you, but don't reattach them until either Bella or I tell you, understand?" She nodded her head yes and I could feel her pain. This would be another good test for her, a test in self restraint. I didn't know if she would pass this test, but either way it would be a good learning experience for her. She had her fingers in her pocket, it wouldn't take much to reattach them, but I hope she followed my orders regardless. "You can spend time with Edward as long as you're in my sight."

Edward wasted no time and was down the stairs immediately. Bree faltered at my side before joining him. I walked into the living room to give them more space and collapsed on the couch, they moved so that they were in the corner, in my line of vision. I paid them no attention. I quickly noticed just how empty it was here without Bella, but I would allow her the time she needed with her father and Phil.

"Look at us," Alice said as she came in the back door and sat down next to me. "We're dateless."

"Just like old times," I joked back as I grabbed her hand within my own. "How are you and Leah?"

"Good, very good." She smiled and I could feel just how happy she was. "You were right, she was everything I ever dreamed of, she just came in a different package. What about you and Bella?"

"We're good, as always."

"So you're not angry with her about her plans for the future?" Alice asked me.

"No, not really. Ruling is not something I ever considered, but it will be a good challenge. If things turn bad I have a plan," I joked, but Alice received my vision it seemed and she paled. "It was a joke," I told her as soon as she snapped out of it.

"If you ever commit a murder suicide I will kill you myself," Alice warned me and she shuddered.

"Missing Leah?" I asked her. I could feel her love when I mentioned her mate.

"Yes, not being able to receive visions when I'm with her is such a gift. It's... Well I bet you can understand it."

I could. I knew exactly how Alice felt about her visions, how they burdened her, how they dictated everything that she did. It was not a gift I would wish on anyone.

"You're getting visions now though right?" I asked. "With Leah and Bella away?" She nodded her head. "How's my future looking now?"

"You asked me not to tell you," came her answer.

"You can't tell me anything? Am I still happy?"

"Of course, you have Bella."

"So I still have Bella in the future? For eternity?" Please say yes, that would make me so happy.

"Yes, you and her... Well, I can't really say anything, the future switches back and forth between two options, but you're happy and you're with her, no matter what."

Ah, this was good news.

"Thank you, Alice," I picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. "I'm glad we're both happy and that we've found our mates." I looked up at Edward and Bree in the corner and I could feel their love. I motioned to them and Alice looked. I then sent Alice the love I felt between the two of them.

"Oh, Edward, I'm so happy for you," Alice gushed and Edward lifted his head.

Edward became confused and then he spoke. "You thought we were mates, Alice? You liked me like that?" He was definitely confused.

The more he said, the more Alice seemed to be remembering. Edward read her mind quickly.

"Well, yes, but now I know why I couldn't see my mate. Leah blocked me. As for you and Bree, well, unlike Jasper and Bella, I think you were only ever supposed to be with Bree if she was turned into a vampire. But I don't know and I don't care anymore."

Edward accepted this and turned his attention back to Bree. That's my Alice. I loved that she no longer needed to know everything anymore, it was good.

"Oh, I meant to tell you congratulations."

"Congratulations on what?" I asked Alice confused. This got Esme's attention and she walked into the room. I could also hear Emmett and Rose upstairs stop whatever they were doing.

"On you and the Major becoming one." Alice was confused. "It did happen didn't it? Your decisions no longer have a blackness around them." My decisions had a blackness, what? Was Alice receiving contradicting decisions from me because the Major was a separate person? I didn't know.

"When did this happen?" Esme asked me proudly.

"I don't know, a couple of days back, after Volterra."

"And Bella?" she asked expectantly.

"Not yet, soon," I promised her and I could feel her sadness. "She's come a long way, Esme," I reassured her, "she's just got that last little bit to go."

Everyone went back to what they were doing and I just sat there. Some time passed, I don't know how long. Without Bella around I didn't need to keep track of the hours. Speaking of Bella, I got a strong dose of happiness and freedom from her. My head shot up and Alice looked at me.

"Run," she told me with a smile. "Run fast or you'll miss it."

I didn't question her. I just followed the pull in my chest and it led me to the hospital. What was Bella doing here? As I walked through the hallways I could feel her pain and discomfort. It didn't take long for me to track her down. She was in emergency, sitting on a bed. She had some kind of cut on her head and a nasty bruise was already forming. She had hurt herself. What was I going to do with her? I would never be able to breathe a sigh of relief until she was indestructible. She lifted her head and caught my gaze, I could feel her confusion, but also her relief.

I walked over to her and sat next to her on the bed. "What happened?"

"Umm," Charlie cleared his throat. I looked up and he motioned to Phil. Right, I needed to act human.

"I tripped," Bella answered me, embarrassment flashing through her. "I hit my head on my cast."

She hit her head on her cast? That was it, she was never allowed out of my sight ever again. I let out a small growl and she rested her hand on mine.

"I'm fine," she reassured me. "It's just a scratch." I looked at her face, it looked like someone punched her right above the eye. "Plus this is good news." Her emotions shifted and she was absolutely beaming. "Your dad said he would take off my cast."

Ah, so Carlisle finally caved.

I sat down properly and pulled Bella into my lap, kissing her on the side of her neck.

"I'm glad you're in one piece."

"Me too," Charlie agreed.

"Please," Phil spoke with a smile, "this is nothing. Tell them, Bella. She's got two left feet and danger follows her everywhere." I didn't disagree with him there. "I gave her a present on Christmas day and she tripped over the wrapping paper on the floor and then when she actually got the present, she gave herself a paper cut trying to open the damn thing."

"Phil," Bella groaned. "They don't need to know this."

"I think it's funny," I told Bella, siding with Phil. "I better make sure you get no paper cuts when opening presents at my house though." I could feel Charlie's fear spike.

"I had one birthday party there and that was enough thank you very much," Bella countered and Phil let out a laugh at that.

"Bella and presents don't get along well," he explained. "It's like pulling teeth and it's best to be avoided."

"See," Bella told me. "No more presents."

"Okay," I accepted and I could feel her happiness, "but good luck convincing Alice of this." Her happiness disappeared immediately.

"Alice is Jasper's adopted sister," Charlie explained to Phil. "She's the one who threw Bella a birthday party."

"Only because you convinced them that I needed one," Bella smiled up at her dad. She was mad, but it seemed like she just couldn't stay mad at him.

"You needed friends, Bella," Charlie told her, "I got you a family."

That he did.

"Bella," Carlisle said as he stepped behind the curtain. "Let's get this cast off. Oh, Jasper, you're here."

I played the part of a human. "Yeah, Charlie texted me." Phil didn't seem to question this which was good.

"Good, I bet Bella's glad you're here. Are you ready, Bella?" he asked her.

"I was ready two days ago," Bella countered and Carlisle busied himself with the saw so that he couldn't catch her glare.

I didn't let Bella go and Carlisle worked efficiently. He pulled her cast off and I could feel her freedom. I was so glad she was finally feeling free and then it happened. Her emotions shifted, they molded together. She was becoming one with Isabella and it was an amazing thing to feel. I guess ever since James she hadn't really felt free, but right now she did. "Clear the room," I whispered to Carlisle. He made up some excuse and then he left with Phil and Charlie. I held onto Bella tightly, just enjoying her emotions. They finally settled down completely and I could feel her peace.

I lifted her off my lap and placed her next to me. I looked deeply in her eyes and she looked back at me.

"Hello, my love." I reached towards her and traced her cheekbone. She gasped and I could feel he amazement.

"When?" she questioned me, her eyes drilling deep into my own.

"The other day." I leaned forward and brought her lips to mine. I kissed her hard and she kissed me back just as hard. This felt right, everything had finally aligned. I wanted to deepen it, I wanted to progress further, but now was not the time nor the place. I only pulled away when I heard Carlisle on his way back. "Carlisle's coming," I whispered to her.

"So?" she countered, pulling me back towards her.

I broke free of her grasp. "I can't," I told her and her disappointment was grand. "Your dad and Phil are with him." She finally understood and she pulled back, smoothing out her hair.

"As soon as Peter has our room finished," she promised me. "The second it's finished."

"I will be there," I promised her.

"Bella, I've prescribed some Tylenol in case you have any pain." Carlisle grabbed a chair and moved closer to her. "Just move it gently. Your scar has healed nicely."

Her scar? Right. I looked at her arm closely. She had a thick scar running the length of her forearm. A battle wound, well, a scar from being caught up in a natural disaster.

"Welcome to the club," I whispered to her as I ran my finger up the length of her scar. I could feel her amusement and love.

"Let me clean up your head," Carlisle told Bella. I watched as he dabbed at the blood on her head. Carlisle's control always amazed me because he was self taught. He resisted the pull of human blood just because he didn't want to harm humans, because he wanted to keep as much of his humanity as he could. I knew that my control wasn't as good as Carlisle's, but after spending almost a century controlling my thirst to make newborns, and then learning to take on board an extraordinary amount of bloodlust from them, only to turn it around into lust for the battle, well I was close.

Charlie seemed to shy away from Bella and her blood and I found that funny. Good thing he ran with the wolves and not us. Carlisle finished cleaning her up and put a dressing over the wound.

"Are you sure you're right to spend the night at Charlie's?" I asked Bella quietly as Carlisle distracted Charlie and Phil.

"Yeah, I need this," she told me.

I stole one last quick kiss before pulling away. "I will miss you."

"I will see you tomorrow," she told me.

I full on pouted at her lame reply. "Will you miss me?"

"I'll tell you the answer to that tomorrow," she quipped back. Ah, yes, feisty Bella was back. I loved feisty Bella. I needed to send off a message to Peter pronto, I wanted our room finished now.

"Bella," Charlie spoke before I could let out a growl. "Let's go home, kiddo."

Bella stood up and left with her dad and Phil. I stared after her before Carlisle stepped into my view. I reluctantly looked up at him. "What?" I asked him when he just stood there.

"Nothing," he replied with a smile and I wanted to smack him, instead I decided to stare him down. It didn't take long before he evaded my gaze.

I stood up from the bed and brushed passed him. He grabbed my shoulder to stop me.

"What?" I snapped at him.

"I'm glad you're happy, Jasper. I wish you and Bella didn't have to move to Montana, but I'm glad you're happy."

"Thank you," I responded before getting out of there. The pride and happiness he felt towards me still got to me. I didn't deserve it, not from him.

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><p><strong>AN- **Okay, the chapter is slightly shorter, but I got a headache so we'll leave it there.

Review


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Bree, hand," I commanded her and she showed me her hand, she was still missing her three fingers, this was good. "It's time for a test," I ordered her. "Everyone is in the house. Listen for them, find them, and then tell me all of their names. Go!"

Bree closed her eyes and listened hard. Rose and Emmett were up in their room. Edward was playing his piano. Alice and Leah were in Alice's room. Carlisle and Esme were in the same room, just in front of us, and Bella was standing right next to me.

"Edward," she began, facing the right direction. She turned. "Leah, Alice." She turned again. "Emmett, Rosa-lie." She spoke and I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Rosalie," I called out. She had heard the whole conversation and was down in a flash. "You know the punishment, Bree, hold out your hand." Bree held out her hand and Rose tore off one of her fingers. "We will be running this test again in an hour," I told Bree, "and if you get her name right next time, she will return your finger." Rose disappeared back upstairs. "Now, continue."

"Okay," she said shakily and I could feel her nervousness. "Esme, Carl-isle." I would let that one slide because she may have just faltered due to nerves, but if she said it that way again... "Jasper," she turned and faced me. This would be the real test. "Izzy-Bella," she spoke and I could feel her confusion and horror. "It's Bella, I know it's Bella. I'm so sorry, Bella, please don't hurt me again. I'm sorry."

"Bree," I let out a sigh, "rules are rules. Bella?" I prompted. Bella seemed unsure, she was deep in thought, but she quickly came to a decision.

"Give me your fingers, Bree." Bree had a flash of hopefulness go through her and she grabbed her severed fingers out of her pocket and handed them over to Bella. What was she up to? "Now give me your hand." Bree reached out willingly. I still didn't know what Bella was doing, but I wouldn't undermine her unless her punishment wasn't actually a punishment.

It soon became clear and I watched on amazed as my mate fused Bree's fingers on backwards. She had listened to me, I was so proud of her. Putting Bree's fingers on backwards would mean that she would be in constant pain until the venom slowly straightened her fingers, or until someone pulled them off and reattached them correctly. As soon as she was done, Bree fell to the ground, cradling her hand. She was definitely in pain, but she didn't speak out except for a few small whimpers.

"We will try this again in an hour," I reminded her. "And perhaps Bella will show you some mercy if you get her name right. Go be with Edward."

"Th-Thank you, Jasper," she spoke before picking herself up and running off to Edward. I turned my attention to my wonderful mate.

I could feel that she was feeling unsure. She shielded us immediately.

"Did I do okay?" she asked me. Her voice was so small and I could tell that her and Isabella were still settling in to being one. "I thought it was fitting, but I'm not sure."

"Bella," I cut her off as I approached her. "You did wonderfully. Better than that actually. I've never thought to use limb displacement as a punishment before, it's pretty genius." I brought her into my arms and allowed her to feel my lust. "You're going to be one powerful ruler." I nuzzled her neck affectionately.

"Jasper," she spoke and I grunted in reply. "We have an audience."

I pulled back from her and glanced at Carlisle and Esme who were watching us.

"Why couldn't your shield have invisibility properties?" I asked her. "That would be so helpful in times like this."

She thought about it before replying, "Yeah that would be pretty cool. Too bad I don't have it."

"How do you know?" I asked her.

"Well I assume if I did have it then it would have manifested with James, god knows I didn't want him staring at me the way that he did. You may be able to project lust, but I could tell that he was feeling it."

I frowned. "He didn't touch you did he?" I just had to ask. I had held off earlier because Bella was still healing, but I needed to know.

"No, he just looked at me. And he kept on saying, 'just you wait', and stupid shit like that. I think he was waiting until I was turned. Who knows, thankfully it never came to that. I hate to think what would have happened if he hadn't died." Bella let out a shudder.

"I would have found you eventually," I told her, bringing her back into my arms. "We are mates after all, and when you were turned we would have felt the mating pull. Either that or Victoria surely would have killed you."

"Jasper!" she shrieked, stepping away from me and lifting her arm to hit me. I grabbed her hand to stop her, we definitely didn't need another broken arm. "Don't say that."

"Why? It's the truth. Victoria changed that Riley kid just after James sent her away, she was going to kill you one way or another."

"You're an ass, you know that?" She wasn't really mad at me, I could feel that.

"Thank you. You're beautiful, you know that?" I countered. She pulled me out of her shield. How dare she? I could feel her amusement. I'd get her for this. "Bella. Oh, Bella," I spoke and she pretended to ignore me. I sent her as much lust as I could muster. Her shield kept it back at first, but I just tried harder. I could feel her struggling, but I kept at it. Soon her shield faltered and the lust hit her. Her knees buckled and she hit the ground.

"Jas-per, stop it. Now!" she screamed at me. A few more seconds, just until she was close. I could feel her at the edge and I pulled it back. She laid on the ground catching her breath. Carlisle and Esme was still there, watching us, but I didn't even register them in my mind. "You asshole," Bella spoke as she managed to stand up. "I know what you did and you're going to pay for that. I have a shield, did you forget that?"

I frowned. Her shield? What did that have to do with me leaving her sexually frustrated?

"Examine," Bella told me and I could see her concentrate her shield to be just around her hand. "Try and crush my hand," she told me. I didn't try, of course, I wouldn't hurt her. "Do it!" she commanded and I had to obey.

I reached out and I couldn't even touch her skin, her shield prevented me. I grabbed her hand anyway and squeezed hard, nothing happened. I was still confused though.

"Just think," Bella told me, pulling her hand away from me. "If I can shield my hand, then I can shield anything."

And then I finally got it. Stupid mother fucker. She was smiling at me. Bella had a fucking built-in chastity belt, I was so screwed. She caught my reaction and she laughed.

"Don't play with fire, Bella, you're going to get burnt."

"Enough, enough," Carlisle finally spoke up. "I don't know what you're doing, but stop it."

"It's there version of foreplay," Emmett yelled from above and Carlisle frowned.

"Is this true, Jasper?" Esme asked. Oh god. I couldn't meet their eyes. Sure they weren't my real parents, but I did not want to talk to them about this.

"I don't want to talk about this," I told them, turning around and heading for the stairs. Bella ran after me and launched herself onto my back. I grabbed her legs and ran up to my room.

"That's what you get for playing with fire," Bella told me as she slid off my back way too slowly, and then she was pressed up against my front. "Can you feel how I'm feeling?" she asked, her shield around us. I could feel her lust and frustration. "You did that to me, so you have to fix it, and you can't use your gift this time."

"But Bree," I spoke. I was giving her a way out, but she seemed sure.

"You have a little while before then. Let's put your mouth to a useful task."

She left my arms and got up on to the bed. I wouldn't deny her this. I would give her a pleasure she would never forget. I joined her on the bed, quickly ridding her of her pants. My head disappeared between her legs and I didn't stop worshipping her until the second before it was time for Bree's next test. I pulled away and Bella groaned.

"The second our room is finished," I gave her words back to her and she didn't appreciate that, but she backed down.

She got up from the bed, re-dressed, and headed for the door. "I can't wait until we have a bathroom connected to our room," Bella told me before quickly rushing across the hall. I followed her. I cleaned my face and ran a hairbrush though my hair, then I just leaned back against the counter and waited for Bella to finish. When she was done, we walked back down the stairs, hand in hand. Bree was already there waiting for us and I could feel her determination.

"Begin," I told her.

"Rosalie," she started off correctly. Rose appeared at the top of the stairs and threw Bree's finger to me. I caught it and reattached it. Bree kept on going, "Emmett. Alice, Leah, Edward, Carlisle, Esme, Jasper." She paused, she only had Bella's name to go. "Bella," she spoke confidently. I could tell she had to fight herself on this one, for some reason her mind really thought Bella's name was Izzy, but she was getting it slowly.

"Pull one of her fingers off and reattach it correctly," Bella told me and I carried out her wishes. "We will try this test again in an hour and the hour after that," Bella told Bree. "If you get my name right all of your fingers will be attached correctly. One more hour after that and we will try the test again, if you get them all right, you will be rewarded."

"Go be with Edward until the next test," I told her and she left my side. "I should go hunt," I told Bella. I needed to be fully sated before we went back to our ranch.

"Just have my blood," Bella said as she held out her arm for me. I could feel Carlisle's panic and discomfort.

"No, Bella, animal blood."

"Why?" she asked me confused. "Peter and Garrett are human drinkers, you should join them, you will be stronger then."

"I think I'm strong enough," I replied. I knew the real reason I wouldn't go back to human blood, but Bella didn't. "Animal blood is my choice."

"Why?" Bella asked and I could tell that if we weren't careful Carlisle would catch on to the fact that when Bella was changed she was going to be a human drinker. I decided to answer her in hopes that we could drop the subject.

"Because if I drink from humans then there is nothing stopping me. I will lose whatever humanity I have. I will become a monster, and I can't have that, especially with you still being a human. I don't want to lose myself, Bella, and I don't want to lose you because of it. Plus we'll need someone to show the other vampires that it is possible to live off animal blood." I could feel Bella's acceptance, but she was still conflicted. The matter was dropped. "Are you coming with me? I could use you as bait again."

"Bait?" Carlisle's concern him me.

"Again?" Esme spoke next. I brushed them off.

"I'll come, but something different from a bear this time. How about a mountain lion?"

"You ate one of my bears?!" Emmett's anger washed over me, thankfully Rose distracted him.

"I will come as well," Carlisle told me leaving no room for arguments.

"Yeah, me too," Esme agreed. "I could use a hunt." She was lying.

"Great," Bella replied sarcastically. "Getting chaperoned by the parents."

I let out a laugh. "You're worried about being chaperoned and not the fact that you're watching me hunt. I'm beginning to believe that your were never human."

Bella's face scrunched up. "I am human." Ah, details. "And I don't mind watching you hunt, it's hot."

I could feel Carlisle and Esme's embarrassment, maybe we could scare them off.

"Let's go, we don't have long," I told them and we all headed out, with Bella safely on my back.

I ran far into the forest and Carlisle and Esme followed. I stopped and helped Bella off my back, just searching for a mountain lion, it's what my mate wanted after all. I picked up the scent of one, but it was further up the mountain. I picked Bella up and ran up the mountain. When I was close enough I set her down. I sensed the area, there were two mountain lions, one male and one female, I wouldn't tell Bella this.

"Let's show them how we hunt," I told her. "Walk forward twenty paces, then step backwards slowly." I kissed her on the top of the head before darting into the trees. I could feel Carlisle and Esme's concern, but they were staying back.

Bella stepped forward and I heard the mountain lion emerge, as soon as I caught sight of it I pounced. I sunk my teeth into its neck and drained it quickly. I waited, staring up at my mate who was still retreating slowly. I was just waiting for the other cat to attack me. This was another reason I loved hunting animals more than humans, it was way more fun. You got the thrill of the hunt, most humans put up little to no fight, it was pathetic. Animals on the other hand fought with their lives, no matter what.

The second mountain lion finally pounced on me and I allowed it to swipe at me, it couldn't penetrate my skin. I could feel Bella's pain, she would learn quickly. I twisted around and grabbed the cat around the middle, crushing it's ribs. I pushed it away from me and it slowly got up from the ground, broken ribs and all. I admired its will to live, if only humans had this same outlook. I let it stalk me. I would let it get in one more attack before I killed it. I turned my back and the minute I did, it pounced, it's jaws going straight for my neck. It bit my neck, but didn't penetrate it. I grabbed the cat around the head and flipped it over in front of me, draining it quickly.

When I was done I grabbed both of my kills and placed them in front of my mate. I had shown her my kill once before and she didn't appreciate it at all, but now that she was joined with Isabella I wanted to see how she would react. I dropped to my knees in front of her. I looked up at her and she reached out and patted me on the head. She fucking patted my head. I let out a growl and grabbed her, forcing her against the nearest tree. I could hear Carlisle and Esme jumping to intervene, but my mate used her shield to keep them away.

My eyes turned black no doubt. I was angry, I wasn't a fucking dog. Why the fuck did she pat me? My mate didn't seem to be scared of me though. I grabbed her hair and pulled her head back forcefully. Presenting her neck to me. I could see her blood pumping just below the surface. I scratched my teeth along her neck lightly, drawing some blood. I licked her sweet tasting skin, lapping up the blood. Fuck, she tasted so good.

"Are you done?" Bella asked me and I let out a growl.

"No!" I snapped at her, pushing her harder against the tree.

"Jasper," somebody said from behind me. I let out a warning growl, they didn't know anything. Bella wasn't scared of me and I wouldn't hurt her.

"You know it's wrong to play with your food right?" Bella told me. Why? Playing with my food was fun. I felt her amusement, oh, she was joking around.

"I'm not a fucking dog," I told her, my black eyes staring down her brown ones. "Don't treat me like one."

She smirked at me, she actually fucking smirked at me. She said nothing, she just wiggled out of my grasp, I allowed her, and she walked away from me. I turned to face her. She was walking backwards. I saw the exposed tree root, she didn't. I just stood there, smiling at her. She would trip and before she did she would see me smiling at her. I win this round. She hit the exposed root and she fell backwards. I could feel her shock and surprise, but before she hit the ground I was there to catch her.

"I love you," I told her as I lifted her up and held her against my chest.

"I love you too."

"Did you miss me when you were with Phil and Charlie?" I asked her, wanting affirmation.

"Of course," she opened up her emotions and I felt just how much she missed me.

"Never again," I promised her.

"Bella, are you okay?" Esme asked and I let out a small growl.

"I'm fine, Esme," Bella told her with a smile as she grabbed my hand. "Jasper knows his limits and he would never hurt me."

"He drew your blood," Carlisle spoke to her, I would let her answer.

"So?" Bella countered. "He's a vampire. You're all vampires. I would be more worried if he didn't draw my blood in situations where he's relying only on his instincts. As I said, he'll never hurt me, and if he did, well, he'd just change me. It's a win-win."

What? I could tell the Esme and Carlisle could not understand where she was coming from at all.

"Let's go," Bella announced, climbing onto my back. "Bree will be waiting."

I agreed and wrapped my arms around her legs and took off towards the house, leaving Carlisle and Esme in my wake. Bella buried her head into the crook of my neck and I could feel her taking in my scent. I picked up my pace. We made it back and as expected Bree was already waiting. Good.

The next two tests went off perfectly and Bree now had all her fingers attached correctly. This last test would be the hardest for her because she had nothing to gain, except for Bella's reward. I reminded her of this fact before she began, but she didn't need any incentives. She went through all the names perfectly. I sent her my pride and she smiled. I could feel her nervousness. "You did good, kid," I reassured her, but she was still nervous.

"Jasper," she spoke quietly. "May I ask what my reward is?"

"Of course," I smiled at her. I looked at Bella and she nodded for me to continue. "Bella and I will be heading to Montana soon and seeing as you've been doing good I will allow you to stay here with your mate." I could feel just how happy and thankful she was.

"Thank you so much, Jasper," she told me. I could tell she wanted to hug me, but we didn't need that at all, so I turned from her.

"Edward," I spoke and he joined his mate. "When I am gone I expect you to take over Bree's training and punishments. Teach her everything you know about being a vampire and if she disobeys you or your rules then you will need to teach her a lesson. The best method would be the one I've put in place, remove a body part and only give it back to her once she has learned. If she makes the same mistake twice, take two body parts. When I come home I will assess Bree and if I find that you've done a good job I will transfer her care to you, if you fail I will be taking her to Montana with me, alone, to finish her training and I won't show her any mercy."

Edward didn't like that.

"I won't screw this up," Edward reassured me. We would see.

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><p><strong>AN- **I enjoyed writing this chapter.

Review.


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing and for your patience.

This is the only chapter, for this story, that I've written almost half of it and scrapped it completely. I was not happy and I was unsure. It's hard to explain, but _Mischievously Me_ set me straight with a quote she wrote in a review-

"_So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say." - Virginia Woolf_

So that's what I did. I wrote what I wished. I didn't think about you guys and what you wanted. I thought about me, and what Bella and Jasper deserved. I think it turned out well and I learned a valuable life/writing lesson this week.

**Lemon **in this chapter. If that's not your thing I'll put a page break in where it begins.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Jasper, you need to stop," Bella told me as she pushed me away.

"I don't want to wait," I told her, kissing her neck once again.

"Peter is working hard," Bella reassured me. "The second that it's done."

"I can't wait. I've been waiting." My mouth never left her neck.

Bella's phone rang and she pulled away to answer it. It was Peter. I let out a growl.

"Tell the Major to calm down," Peter told her. "I've had to work on your room all alone for security purposes, but it's close. Give me to three in the afternoon and then come. I will work nonstop until it's at least secure."

"Thank you, Peter." Bella hung up the phone and turned her attention to me. "See," she told me, "Soon, this afternoon exactly."

"I still can't wait," I growled at her.

"Well you'll have to."

Six hours. I could wait six hours, surely. But now I knew how close it was, my resolve crumbled completely. I wanted her right now.

"Enough," Bella warned me and I snapped out of it. I did not need to piss her off, not today.

"Why did Peter call you?" I asked instead, already knowing the answer, but it still hurt. Peter was my closest friend and I had fucked that up.

"He'll come around," Bella said as she rested a hand on my cheek. "He's doing all this for you, for us. He just has to learn to trust you again, and he will, with time."

I let out a sigh, she was right. "What do we do for six hours?" I asked her.

"We could go on that double date with Alice and Leah," Bella suggested and I wanted to kill whoever told her about that.

I let out a growl. "No. I was thinking more about foreplay."

"Jasper," Bella warned.

"Our foreplay," I told her. "I want to fight you."

I could feel her lust at the thought of me sparring with her, but she pushed it aside. I frowned. "Later," she promised me. "I am a human and I would not be able to last six hours."

"I don't know," I told her, bringing her back into my arms, "I think you could go for six hours."

"Well we'll see tonight, and you better not wear me out or our activities tonight will be cut short."

She was right. Why did she have to be human again? I could tell she didn't want to be changed, not yet. I would wait, for a while.

"So?" I prompted her. "What the fuck are we going to do?"

"Jasper!" I heard Esme berate me from downstairs.

"You know," I told Bella, "You could just shield me always."

"Where would be the fun in that?" Bella asked me before leaving my room and walking down the stairs. I followed her. She walked straight over to Rose. I stood next to Emmett.

"I hear you're fighting," Emmett said and I could feel his excitement. "I want in. Rose and I against you and Bella."

"That's not a fair match up," I told him. He would never win. "Plus, you've never won against me."

"Never?" Bella questioned him and Emmett shook his head sadly. "We're in then," Bella told him, "but I'll be on your team, Emmy."

Placing me with Rose was not the wisest idea either, but I had to admit, with Bella's shield, it would be a fair fight.

"Let's do it now," Emmett said, excitement overtaking him.

"Later," Bella told him as she sat down on the couch.

"Bella's human," I reminded him.

"Why are you still human anyway?" Rose asked and this surprised me. Rose hated how she was damned to this immortal life, but I didn't intervene, I wanted to hear Bella's answer.

"It's not the right time yet," Bella explained. "I can see it. I become a vampire, there's no doubt about that, but the circumstances change. It just doesn't feel like it's time yet, so I'll stay human for now."

"I like that," Rose said and I could feel her admiration. "You're not dying to become a vampire even though you know that's what your future holds. It's good."

Everything went silent.

"I need to eat," Bella announced suddenly, getting up, kissing me on the lips, before walking into the kitchen. Esme was in there, so I left them be.

"Have you thought any more about joining us in Montana?" I asked Rose and Emmett.

"I don't know, man," Emmett told me honestly. "What would we be expected to do?"

"I'm not entirely sure," I answered. "Bella wants you to work with Charlie in the field of justice, but Charlie won't be joining us in Montana until we have our hierarchy fully in place, so you still have time to think about it."

"I liked working with Charlie," Emmett admitted. "I'll think about it."

"And Rose?" I questioned her. "I would love you to be close to me, perhaps even a personal guard for Bella, not that she really needs it, but I would feel safer with you there."

"If Emmett joins I will as well," she told me, but I could feel her hope. I had no doubt she would join me and she would drag Emmett with her if she had to.

Time dragged by slowly. An hour passed and Bella had spent most of that in the kitchen talking to Esme. Their emotions were both pleasant so I left them be. I just sat on the couch. Slowly another hour passed. Only four more to go, I told myself. Bella joined my side again and another hour passed. Three to go. I mentally scolded myself. When was the last time I counted down the hours to something? A vision of Bella being at school without me came into my mind, I remembered counting the hours that day too, but at least I could busy myself with sleep that day.

Emmett became antsy and I knew he was itching for this fight. I would give into him, as it would allow more time to pass. His excitement hit me and I stood up. "Let's get this over and done with," I told him as I walked out the back door. The others followed me. Rose stuck by my side as Emmett and Bella walked further away from us. Bella shielded him and they began planning.

"What's our plan?" Rose asked me, determination flowing through her.

"There is no plan," I told her. "We fight and we win. I have never lost and I will not lose today."

"What about Bella and her shield? We can't protect ourselves against that." I could feel Rose's worry and rightly so.

I began going through all the scenario's and it wasn't looking too good for us. With Bella's shield and Emmett's strength, if they used her power wisely, which I had no doubt Bella would, then it would be a tough win, but not impossible. I thought of everything I could. Attacks, defenses, everything. There was only one way to win. I had to disarm Bella's shield with my gift. I vowed after this fight that I wouldn't never fight against her again. I realized her shield was too powerful and too hard to defeat. I never wanted to be against it again.

"I'll deal with Bella's shield and then you attack, but don't hurt her. Go for the kill shot, but don't bite down." Rose rolled her eyes, she was feeling annoyance. I guess I didn't really need to spell it out to her. She knew not to harm Bella. "I'll deal with Emmett." I knew I couldn't put Rose against her mate, she didn't have the heart to fight him, not like I would.

Bella unshielded Emmett and turned her attention to me. "No rules?" she asked me and I nodded my head. This worked in my favor.

"No regrets?" I asked back. I needed to know that anything that happened in this fight would be water under the bridge. I didn't want any lingering resentment from any of them. This was a fight and I would do what I had to do to win. She nodded her head in acceptance. "Remember I can feel emotions. Any resentment, I will feel it. This is a fight," I told them all, "A friendly fight, remember that."

Everyone agreed and then we began. Bella was still unshielded so I acted quickly. I sent her all the love I could and she faltered, but she quickly pushed it away. I needed another emotion before she could shield herself and Emmett up. I knew now that I could push my emotions through her shield, but it would be easier if I didn't have to do that. I knew what I needed to send her. It wasn't entirely fair, but we had agreed on no rules and it was the only way I would win this fight.

"Get ready," I told Rose. Truthfully I hoped like hell that Rose wouldn't realize what I was doing, if she did she would immediately turn on me.

I brought Bella's foreign emotion of misplaced affection and fear to the forefront of my mind, remembering it clearly from the day where I reached out a grasped her hand in the school hallway. This is the only emotion I knew that would throw her off balance. Now that she was joined with Isabella it shouldn't affect her badly, but you never could tell with these things. I sent it to her and she faltered.

"Now," I told Rose and she charged Bella. I intensified the emotion and once Bella was clearly affected I pulled it back and focused my attention on Emmett. With Bella out of the equation this was an easy fight. I had bested Emmett many times before and this was no different. I brought him down quickly and turned my attention to Rose. She had Bella down on the ground, her mouth near her neck. Once she saw we had won she pulled away from Bella.

Bella had shook the emotions I had sent her off and was settling down her feelings, working out how to feel about what I just did to her. I could clearly feel her anger, but her other emotions were still flittering by. Rose and Emmett wisely left us be. It didn't take long for them to disappear up to their bedroom, their lust was suffocating, but I pushed it aside and waited for Bella to speak. Her emotions finally settled, but she put her shield up, blocking me. She opened her mouth and I held my breath. Did she hate me now?

"Well played," she spoke and she let me feel her admiration, "but let's never fight on opposite sides again... Unless it's against each other," she added and I agreed. I thoroughly enjoyed it when we sparred. "We are both too powerful to be going at each other. We stand together, side by side, always."

"Always," I agreed.

I walked over to her and nuzzled her hairline at her neck, asking for forgiveness. I didn't want her to feel that feeling ever again, but losing the fight was not an option for me.

"You're forgiven," she told me, un-shielding her emotions again. I was happy to find she was telling the truth. "Let's go home," she whispered to me.

"It's too early," I mumbled back sadly.

"So?" she questioned. "Who cares if Peter's not done."

I wasn't going to argue with her. I ran inside, using my vampire speed, and picked up a weatherproof blanket Carlisle used when he was called out to a patient in the mountains. I walked back over to Bella and wrapped it around her tightly. I knew that the fastest way to get to Montana was if we ran and I wanted to protect her from the cold. I made sure she was wrapped up tightly before I cradled her closely to me, hiding her head against my chest.

I took off, running as fast as I could. I kept a close eye on Bella's emotions and her body warmth, but the blanket was doing its job. It wasn't letting the cold in and it wasn't letting Bella's body heat out. I ran and I ran fast. I was excited, plus I wanted to get Bella there sooner rather than later. I made it in just over an hour. I set Bella down outside the house and I looked at it surprised. Not much had changed since I saw it last, a few walls were now in place, but it was the wraparound porch, complete with balconies right around that shocked me. It was exactly how I imagined it, how I remembered it. It looked perfect and I could tell Bella agreed.

We walked into the Ranch and I pulled the blanket from Bella, tossing it aside. I walked upstairs, holding her hand in my own and headed towards the left side of the house. I could see the room on the top floor, in the back corner, it was completely hidden from view. It was the only room to have all its walls in place it seemed. As we got closer, Peter stepped out, looking surprised.

"You're early," he told us, frowning. "It's not finished yet." I projected just how much I didn't care. We were here now and we didn't care if it wasn't done. As long as it had four walls, a ceiling and a floor, we would be fine. "Okay, here it is then." Peter stepped aside and allowed us to enter.

We walked into the room and I noticed two things immediately. One, the kitchen seemed to be fully stocked, and the second was that the room was completely bare. It seemed as though the plaster had just been put up, the joins still looked wet and there was no paint on any of the walls. I guess Peter had rushed just to get it finished. Thankfully there was a bed up the far end, well, it wasn't really a bed, just a mattress on the floor, but it would do fine. I doubted we would be doing much resting.

I heard Peter close the door behind us and then nothing, I couldn't hear him, but I could still sense his emotions. I walked over to the nearest wall and knocked on it, it was completely solid. I guess the fucker sound proofed it or some shit. I knew Bella would appreciate that. I turned my attention to my mate. She was feeling amazement and was so content as she walked around our (un)finished room. She was so happy and I could feel her lust.

I had waited for this moment for so long, ever since I had realized that I could have Bella in my life any way that I wanted. I had pushed her gently, testing her boundaries, but I always knew she wasn't ready. But now, especially since she had become one with Isabella, there was nothing holding her back. She turned and faced me and I could feel her lust increase. This was it, nothing would stop us now. We were alone and we both knew what we wanted.

I stalked her carefully and I could feel her surprise before it shifted to determination.

"Should we finish what we've started countless times before?" she asked me, allowing me to approach her.

I let out a growl. She knew me too fucking well. I let out a grunt and nodded my head. The only way this whole situation would have been better was if Bella was no longer human. That way I could be as rough as I wanted, but that wasn't possible. I would still be rough, but I would hold back for her, for me. Our lovemaking would not end in her death, no matter how much I wished it would. To change her in the throes of passion sounded like the best fucking idea to me, but not now. Later.

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><p>I finally stood in front of her. I met her eyes before grabbing her and pushing her up against the wall roughly. She let out a hiss of pain and I placed my mouth over hers to silence her. She gave in. She kissed me back, but her emotions shifted and she extended her shield, pushing me away from her. She pushed me into the opposite wall and held me there, just like I had done to her. I projected my pure unadulterated pleasure, but she never faltered. She kept me firmly against the wall with her shield before walking over to me and pressing her whole body against me.<p>

She reached through the shield, finding a small hole in my shirt, and ripped it from my body. Throwing it over her shoulder. "All mine," Bella growled as she stepped back and admired my chest.

I tried to step away from the wall and when I found I couldn't, I growled lowly at her. She removed her shield and I stepped towards her. "You're wearing too many clothes," I informed her before I reached out and ripped her shirt from her body. I let out a growl, but it sounded more like a purr. I loved the look of her white creamy skin contrasting against her black bra. She was so beautiful and, "Mine!"

Bella launched herself into my arms and I caught her easily. I walked her back to the wall, her legs firmly around my hips. I attached my mouth to hers and didn't let up until I could feel her breath leave her body. I shifted my attention to her neck, licking at her pulse point, sucking it into my mouth. I would take her blood tonight, but not yet. I ran my nose up her neck, taking in her sweet scent. She pulled at my hair and I allowed her. She pulled it to the side and I followed her lead, spinning us around so that I was now the one against the wall.

She began her assault on my neck, it was her turn to play now it seemed. I moved my hands from her ass and slid them down the back of her jeans instead, relishing in the feel of her warm skin against my hands. She was so fucking warm. I kneaded her ass gently, before removing one hand and smacking her on the outside of her jeans. She let out a gasp and her lust increased. She began moving her hips against mine, but I needed more.

I ripped her jeans from her body, before doing the same with mine, quickly cursing that I was in fact wearing underwear today. I looked down at Bella's matching black boy shorts, so fucking cute. I brought our bodies back together, lining us up perfectly, so that Bella could resume her grinding. Yes, that felt much better. I took her lust on board and let it mix with my own before sending it back to her. She growled, her lips meeting mine once again. I ripped her bra from her body, spinning us back around so that she was against the wall again.

I waited until she was finished using my mouth before I pulled back and looked at her. Her breasts were heaving with every deep breath she took, "beautiful." I could feel her happiness and pride. She took my words on board and accepted them. "So beautiful," I repeated before dropping my head and bringing her nipple into my mouth. Damn, she tasted so fucking good. I sucked hard and her hand knotted in my hair, pulling hard. I couldn't wait until she was immortal and she ripped my hair from my skull. I pulled back and let out a growl, pulling my head swiftly to the side. Bella's hand held steady in my hair and I let out a hiss of pain. Fuck, that felt so good.

I refocused my attention on her other nipple and Bella soothed my head, rubbing the spot that pulled away from my skull gently, the venom was already fusing it back to my skull. I placed my teeth around her nipple and pulled, gently. I wanted to bite down and drink from her, but not yet. If I waited it would be much more sweeter. I moved my hands, pulling my remaining hand out of her jeans and balancing her against the wall. My free hands now played with her nipples, pulling them and teasing her, as she tried to steady herself against the wall.

She began to slip so I grabbed her ass again and moved us away from the wall. I stumbled backwards. Her lips had found mine and I got so lost in the kiss I somehow tripped over my own feel and fell onto my back, bringing Bella with me. We were on the fourth floor of the Ranch, but the floor didn't even shake underneath my weight. I would have to thank Peter for this. Bella took charge straightaway, sitting up, and pushing my hands away from her. She began rocking her hips against mine, doing whatever movements felt good for her. I didn't care, as long as she was rubbing on my fucking dick she could do whatever she the fuck she liked.

I could smell her scent get sweeter and sweeter. I could feel her lust nearing the edge, feel her wetness soaking my boxers. I could hear her pants, so sexy, as she tried to fill her lungs with much needed oxygen. I could see this beauty above me, so domineering, the only person I would ever allow to dominate me like this. But I couldn't touch her. I moved my hands towards her, but she grabbed them in her own and placed them above my head before letting go. Nothing was said, but I could tell by the look I was getting that I was not to move them until she said so.

Her movements sped up and the pressure increased. She was close, so close. I wanted to send her the emotions she needed to fall over the edge, but I didn't. She wanted to do this on her own. I could feel her determination. She wanted to get herself off, using my body as a tool. I would allow this. I would get my release soon and on my own terms. She shifted her hips forward and I let out a growl. She was now rubbing her clit over the tip of my dick and it was making me feel so crazy. I wanted to touch her so fucking bad, but I never moved my hands.

Bella reached out and raked her fingernails down my chest, once again I wished she was a vampire. I let out a whine and pleaded her with my eyes. I wanted her to hurt me so badly, I needed it. I wanted her to be rough. I wanted to leak venom for her. I wanted the pain. I loved the pain. Her eyes met mine and she understood. She held out her hand and I handed my arm over to her. She laced her fingers in between my own, increasing her rhythm on my dick before turning my hand over and raking my fingernails down my chest. "Fuck," I hissed. My chest painfully sliced open underneath my fingernails and the pain hit me. It felt so fucking good.

She let go of my hand and I returned it back to above my head, clasping my hands together tightly. My chest stung, but it only increased my lust and desire. I had been born in pain, trained in pain, tortured in pain, and loved in pain. Pain and I just went hand in hand and that would never change and I didn't want it to. Bella met my eyes again and I moved my hips underneath her, bucking up every time her clit reached the tip of my dick. She liked that, loved it actually, and it was what she needed it seemed, as she shortly fell over the edge.

"Jaspurr!" She screamed out, her head tilted backwards. I took all of her desire and lust into me before thrusting up and following her over the edge. I let out a grunt and came in my boxers. It didn't matter. Bella tried to catch her breath and once she was slightly back under control, she dropped her head and began licking at the venom on my chest. The scratch marks were almost healed, but they would scar faintly. A constant reminder of my mate and this night. One day she would be able to scar me with her own fingernails, I couldn't wait for that day.

She licked at my chest until there was no venom left, and as soon as she lifted her head I picked us up and placed her on the mattress. I knelt back, just looking at her. She was lying there, still out of breath. Her hair was a wild mess, all fanned out over the white sheet. Her breasts were still heaving with every breath she took. Her stomach was flat and it too moved. I skipped past her underwear and looked down at her long legs, just remembering how they felt wrapped tightly around my waist. Soon.

I could feel her desire pick up. She was enjoying my gaze. I saw her look down at my boxers and I knew it was time. I reached down and ripped them from my body. My dick stood proudly, it felt so good not to be confined anymore. It twitched once I felt her lust. She wasn't afraid or anxious I noted, she was just feeling an overwhelming amount of love. "I love you," I whispered to her before grabbing her boy shorts and ripping them from her body. I let out a growl, so fucking hot, and so mine. "Tell me, Isabella, are you a virgin?" I asked already knowing the answer, I could smell that she was.

"Yes," she answered honestly and I ran my hand down her stomach resting just above her clit.

"And you're really ready for this?" I knew the answer to that question as well, but I wanted her to answer me. "Are you ready to give yourself to me?"

"Yes," she answered again and there was no doubt.

I circled her clit before going lower. One touch and my fingers were coated in her wetness. She needed to be prepared though. I reached out with one finger and slowly worked it into her. Fuck, she was tight. I heard her grunt. I began moving my finger slowly in her tight, warm hole. Stretching her, preparing her. I moved my body up, never stopping my movements. I reached her mouth and kissed her, letting my tongue dominate her, she let me. I moved away, sucking at her neck. I added another finger when she moaned in pleasure.

This kept on. I teased her and she opened herself further to me. I began moving my three fingers in and out of her. Twisting them, stretching her, just readying her for my dick. My dick knew what was coming and it was pointing ramrod straight, just waiting for my go ahead. My head reached her clit and I stuck out my tongue to play with her, never stopping my fingers. I kept up my pace, teasing her until she could take no more. She fell over the edge. I removed my fingers and lined up my dick, pushing into her in one go. She let out a gasp. I could feel her pain, and then the scent of her blood hit me.

My eyes went pitch black and I was helpless to resist. I stilled my hips, giving her time to adjust, but my mouth latched onto her left breast and I bit hard. Her skin broke and her blood flooded into my mouth. It tasted so good, so sweet, so warm. I drew her blood out slowly, savoring it, all whilst keeping a close eye on her emotions. The moment her pain disappeared and I could feel her comfort at the situation, I began moving. I moved slowly at first, still drinking from her. I could feel the line coming up, the line I would never cross, I did not want red eyes, so I took one last mouthful and pulled back.

I sealed the bite with my venom and increased my pace, slamming into her as hard as I was able, a little harder than I should have, but she was fine. I would not hurt her. She was enjoying herself immensely and so was I. "Faster, harder," she grunted out. She must like it rough. I knew I couldn't go any harder without damaging her, so I increased my speed instead. I pushed and pulled out of her with vampire speed. My fingers gripped tightly on her hips. I could already see the bruises underneath my fingertips and I loved that I was marking her. I let out a growl, I was getting close, so was she. I increased my pace, faster and faster, until we both fell over the edge together. We were completely in sync.

I slowed my movements down carefully, guided by her emotions. Slower and slower, until I had stilled completely. I went to pull out of her, but her legs wrapped around me, keeping me there. I allowed it. I could feel her exhaustion and embarrassment. I could tell that she wasn't embarrassed about what we had just done though, it was probably just a fleeting human thought. She pulled her shield up, surrounding herself. I knew she was happy, sated, and tired, so I allowed her to do it. I rolled us over, never breaking our contact, and she settled down on my chest.

I could no longer feel her emotions, but her breathing evened out and she fell asleep. I let out a chuckle. I tired her out, the thought of it made me so happy. I noticed a red quilt next to the mattress on the floor and I picked it up and pulled it over her body, hoping to keep the chill off her. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her tightly. I felt so happy in the moment, so content. I was never content, not really. My life had always been so unsure.

In my human life, I was unsure how I was going to provide for my widowed mother and siblings. In my life with Maria, I was unsure that I would live to see the next sunset. In my life with Peter and Charlotte, I was unsure they would accept me constantly being the third wheel. In my life with Alice and the Cullen's, I was unsure how long I could stay there and pretend to be happy, pretend to be someone I was not. In my life with Bella, I had been unsure of the future, of our future, but now that she lay in my arms, in our fortress, I was no longer unsure. Bella would be by my side forever, whether it be in human or vampire form. I would keep her safe and we would have an eternity together.

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><p><strong>AN- **This seems like a good place to end this fic, but I won't. There's still plenty of Bella and Jasper's story to come.

Review.


	50. Chapter 50

**A/N- **Thanks for taking the time to review, much appreciated

Chapter 50, whoo! And just shy of 200,000 words.

**Disclaimer- **I own Twilight... the book and the DVD, ha.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Why do you keep your shield in place?" I asked Bella as I hovered above her. "You have nothing to fear here. Peter soundproofed the whole room."

"I know, it's just out of habit. I'm sure it won't be a factor soon," Bella replied. I looked down at her, she was so beautiful.

She was covered in bruises and each one stood for my inability to be gentle with her. My chest and arms were also covered in faint scars from when Bella marked me with my fingernails. I don't know how much time had passed since Bella and I had arrived at the Ranch, but I didn't care. Our room was completely blocked off from the outside world. Bella still had her human moments, taking time to eat and bathe herself, but we never left our little bubble.

The door finally opened and I let out a warning growl.

"Major, Isabella," Peter spoke and I whipped my head to face him. He was standing near the door, head cast downwards, hands clasped together in front of him. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but your potential guards have began arriving."

I rolled my eyes, fucking duties. I just wanted to stay with Bella. My mate let out a small laugh, clearly enjoying my pain.

"How long has it been?" I asked Peter. I didn't want the guard arriving before the Ranch was finished.

"Five days, sir."

Five days? Bella and I had been dead to the world for five days? Well, shit. I guess I couldn't deny his request then.

"Continue," I prompted him, pulling away from Bella, making sure she was covered by the quilt, before facing Peter.

"All the walls are in place and the structure is complete. The main areas have been decorated and furnished, but the guard's rooms have been untouched. Several vampires have arrived either to pledge their allegiance, or to have a chance to join your guard. I've held them off, but they are getting restless. I brought some clothes for you to put on. I'll gather the vampires and put them in the courtyard out back."

"We will be there soon," I told him and he left our room. I gave my mate one last kiss on the lips before getting up from the bed. "Duty calls, my mate," I told her and she pouted, hitting me with her lust. "There will be time for that later," I promised her. "But for now we need to lead, this was your idea after all."

"I remember," Bella replied, getting up. She let out a groan as her muscles protested.

I quickly grabbed the clothes Peter had left me, thankful to see that it was just a pair of jeans, and black shirt and some cowboy boots. Bella was the same, jeans, a shirt, and some boots. I got dressed at vampire speed, just as I finished Bella hugged me from behind, her naked body pressed up against me. I let out a groan.

"Come on, Bella," I told her. "I wasn't the one who decided this fate for us. Get your ass in the shower and get dressed. I'm going to check the security footage in my study, see who is here, so I can be prepared."

"Okay," Bella accepted, kissing my lips before disappearing into the bathroom.

I watched her disappear until she shut the door behind her. I knew she was still careful about her privacy, but she didn't need to be in this room as it was completely secure. She would learn that in time though, so I would leave her be. I walked into my office. It was still bare, but it had a computer set up on the desk. I turned it on and waited for it to start up. Once it did, I found the security camera program and focused on the courtyard. It was filled with six vampires. I could see Peter and Charlotte talking to Carlisle. And Rose and Emmett came out of a door, fixing their clothes and righting their hair. I would need to assign them a room of their own soon, especially if they were staying.

There were ten vampires in total, plus Bella and I. It was a good start. I knew we could get more once we cemented our position of power in this new world. I just hoped that the vampires here were loyal and held some potential. I studied them as I waited for Bella to finish getting ready. Looking at them all closely, watching what they did, reading their lips. There were only four I didn't know, but one looked familiar. Bella finally finished and appeared in the doorway.

"You ready?" she asked me.

"Let's do this," I agreed, standing up. "Remember, my mate, we are equals and you are to act and speak however you wish."

"Okay," Bella accepted and I could feel her pride.

We exited our room for the first time since we arrived five days ago, hand in hand. We walked down the four flights of stairs and ended up in the main room. I was shocked at what I saw and so was Bella. I could feel her awe and amazement. It was completely finished and Peter had done a good job. The walls were a rich golden color and the furnishings were a burgundy red. I turned my back to the entrance and looked up at the great room. Towards the back, high above, was a crest, the Whitlock crest I assumed.

"I can't believe it," Bella spoke, looking at the crest. "I did a crappy drawing of that in my notebook. I was just playing around, I didn't know they were going to use it."

"I like it," I told Bella as I studied it. It held a big 'W' for Whitlock in the center. Hidden partially behind the letter was a shield, split in two. A fierce and wild looking cat, a mountain lion perhaps, was on one half, and an large eagle was on the other half. There was also three words written on a scroll of paper that wound its way through the bottom of the 'W', _Strength, Valor, Justice_. "It's perfect."

Something above the Whitlock crest stood out to me. It was a big oil painting of Bella and I. I didn't know how it got there, I assumed Garrett must have painted it whilst he was in Alaska with his mate. Bella and I were standing side by side, my arm was around her back and our eyes were locked. We looked so happy and you could see the love we held for each other. It looked good, a little too intimate, but it was better than all the Volturi portraits I had seen. It actually showed that we weren't giant asses. The pictured was framed with an expensive looking gold frame. It was all very fitting and it would be the first thing any of our guests saw. It was good.

I pulled Bella away from the portrait with the promise that I would ask Garrett to paint another one for our room. I could feel the vampires impatience, so we needed to get a move on. I walked up the stairs to the second level on the left side of the house and walked towards the balcony that overlooked the courtyard. "Are you ready?" I asked Bella and she nodded her head. I held her hand and walked through the doors, making our way out on to the balcony. We reached the edge and stood side by side. The vampires below quickly noted our presence and gave us their full attention.

"For those of you who don't know, I am Major Jasper Whitlock and this is my mate Isabella Swan Whitlock. You will refer to us as The Major and Isabella unless you are told otherwise. We did not wish to rule part of the vampire world, but the Volturi forced our hand. My mate and I promise that we will rule the Americas fairly and make it a safer place to live. I spent a century fighting in the Southern Vampire Wars and I never lost a fight. I know just how bad a vampire's life can be and I promise that all fights over territory and property will be dealt with swiftly." I paused, hoping that Bella would take over.

"Yes, I am human," Bella started and there were a few shocks. Bella's shield was firmly in place, so they couldn't sense her. "I was forced into this world by a sadistic vampire, and his mate. The male killed my mother, kidnapped me and held me hostage for two years. I did nothing to deserve this fate, but that doesn't mean that I will not embrace it. I vow to do my best and to make the vampire world a more peaceful place, and in turn I will protect the humans that need it. Any human mistreatment, like my own for example, will result in death for the vampire in question and most likely the human as well, no exceptions. We will be strict, but we will always be fair."

I sent her my pride, she was doing well.

"Isabella and I are the rulers. We have two second in commands. Peter and Garrett." I made a motion for them to join us on the balcony. They left their mates and stood behind Bella and I. Garrett on my side, Peter on Bella's. Any orders that come from these two can be trusted as they will only act on our wishes. Today we are assembling a temporary guard. If you are accepted you will be put on a trial period. If we don't find you suitable or you wish to leave, then you are free to do so. No one will be here against their will. Who wishes to join?"

Seven vampires took a step forward.

"This will be easy for those of you we already know, the others, you will have to prove yourselves. Rosalie, you are accepted and you will be Isabella's personal guard. Emmett, you are accepted and you will temporarily be in charge of justice. I say temporarily for reasons that you already know. Kate and Charlotte, you are both accepted. Your mates are in a high position of power, so you will report to them, unless otherwise stated. You," I said as I pointed to a female vampire who had big brown curly hair. "State your name and your business."

"My name is Maggie," she said taking a step forward. "I am part of the Irish coven, with Liam and Siobhan. Siobhan is my sire. I am here because although I like my coven and I do fit in with them, I need a change. They are mated, so I am always the odd one out. I also have a gift and I feel as though I am wasting it. I want to do something good with my life."

"What is your gift?" I asked her.

"I can detect lies," she answered. Well that was a good power to have.

"A test?" I asked her and she nodded her head. "Firstly, everything you've heard from me and my mate today, truth or lie?"

"Truth." Good. I only did this for effect, showing the other vampires that we were being truthful.

"I will tell you two things, one lie, one truth. You tell me which one is the lie and you will be accepted."

I could feel her resolve. I could tell that she really wanted this. I would use my power and see if I could trick her into making a mistake.

"I have a unbreakable family connection with a shape shifter," I told her forcing distrust and deceit into my words. "I once severed my own spinal cord when I was with Maria," I told her, deciding on a half truth and focusing all my thoughts on the time I severed my spinal cord in the mudslide with Bella. "Which is the lie?" I asked.

I could feel her confusion, this was good. Hopefully she would be able to see through my manipulation and come out on top. I knew that if she did then she would most likely never be wrong.

"The second one is the lie?" she questioned.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes," she said more firmly this time.

"You are correct," I informed her, "and you are accepted."

"Major, can I ask what you did? I've never been so unsure before."

"He is an empath and she is a shield." An unkempt vampire spoke, stepping out of the shadows.

"Alistair," Carlisle greeted him excitedly. "I never expected to see you here, old friend."

"I am a tracker, they need a tracker," he said simply.

"But you don't like others," Carlisle spoke concerned.

"I can live in the mountains, far away from everyone else."

"Major," Peter spoke and I turned my attention to him. "I got word from Demetri. Once the bonds were broken he was set to run, but his friendship to Felix and his loyalty to the guard are keeping him in place. There is a chance we could convince him to join us though."

I turned from Peter and focused back on Alistair. I had heard about his ability to track inanimate objects and I knew that everyone overlooked this, even him.

"Alistair, a test?" I questioned him and he didn't even reply. "A police cruiser, VIN number 1M8GDM9AXKP042788, where is it located right now?"

Alistair didn't move a muscle, but I could feel his concentration.

"Quileute Indian Reservation, Forks, Washington. 57 La Push Road, Clearwater residence," he answered, and just like I expected, his power was much more greater once it was focused correctly.

"You have been accepted. Demetri is a non issue unless the circumstances change. Alistair, if you wish to reside in the mountains then you can do that, but we will make up a room in the attic for you in case you ever wish to be closer. Who's next?"

"My name is Randall and I'm a close friend of Carlisle's. I don't hold any gifts, but I would like a chance to see if this is the life I would want to lead."

"Randall is not very old, but he is always eager to learn, loyal too," Carlisle spoke up for his friend.

"You are welcome to stay and observe," Bella spoke up. "We will discuss at a later date whether or not you will be accepted into the hierarchy."

"Thank you, Isabella," Randall replied, bowing his head before stepping back.

"Last?" I questioned and a strong female stepped forward with dark skin and dark hair.

"My name is Mary. I befriended the Cullen's in 1937, in Forks, Washington. They intrigued me, but I didn't share their values on human life, so I left. Ever since I've been on my own. I enjoy the solitude, but like Randall, I would like to see if this is the life for me. I have no special gifts."

"Tell me about you and Randall," Bella demanded softly, picking up on something I clearly overlooked.

"There is nothing to tell," Mary immediately answered. "We met on the way here and discussed the change in power. We hold the same hopes, that this will be our future, that we will never have to be alone again."

"Maggie?" I questioned.

"It is the truth," she answered. Good, that was good. I wasn't sure if they were mates yet, but they were drawn to each other.

"You can have the same deal as Randall then. You are welcome to stay and observe and we will discuss the matter further at a later date. Okay, seeing as we're done I will open it up for questions as I'm sure you're all a little curious about how things will work."

"I have a question," Mary spoke quietly. "Are we expected to change our diet to match yours?"

"No," I answered firmly. "Each vampire is free to make their own decision. If you chose to switch your diet then we will need to be notified before you make any decisions. Me, for instance, I'm keeping up the animal diet and I know for sure that Peter is keeping his choice of humans. It does not matter. Those who are hunting animals can hunt nearby as long as they bury their kill. Those of you who wish to hunt humans are only allowed to hunt up North in Calgary, unless other permission is granted. And I don't think I need to tell any of you this, but being detected by humans is not a thing we want, so clean up after yourselves or there will be consequences."

"If you have any problems at all," Bella spoke up and I could feel her impatience. "You will bring the matter to Peter or Garrett, not us. If they are indisposed, bring it to their mates. You are not to address us at all, unless we are in a setting like this and we are talking freely to you. We are still new to all this, so there will be a few kinks, but we will work through them. I am still human, so I must retire to my room with my mate. Thank you all for your allegiance, we won't let you down."

I put my arm around Bella and held her close to me. I could feel her fatigue, hunger, and her ever present lust.

"Peter will show you to your rooms," I told them. "The right side of the house is off limits to you all, as the rooms belong to my mate and I, and our families. You are welcome to the rest of the house and any suggestion you wish to make can be brought to Peter. Once you've been shown your rooms you can decorate them how you wish. Us Cullen's have a rule, rooms are sacred and another vampire cannot enter them without permission. It's worked well for us and we will be employing that here. If you enter another vampire's room without permission you will be punished as deemed fit.

"Alistair, I want to ask one thing of you. I know you have connections to the Volturi and that you know about our fight with them. Please inform everyone here on all the facts so that they do not underestimate the power or standing of my mate. I wanted to show everyone here how powerful Isabella's shield is, especially for her still being a human, but she is tired, so it will have to wait."

I scooped Bella up into my arms and ran to our room.

"The rest of the Cullen's will be here shortly to help finish off the house," Peter spoke from behind me.

"All of them?" I asked.

"Except Leah."

"That's fine. Have Rose keep an eye on Edward and Bree when they arrive. And, Peter, do not disturb us unless it's completely necessary, that or a whole twenty four hours has passed. I trust you to handle everything in our absence."

"I understand," Peter replied. I only just heard him reply before I closed the door to our room tightly, shutting out the rest of the world.

"Eat something," I prompted Bella, "and then get some rest. I'll find the perfect way to wake you up once you've rested."

I could feel her acceptance.

"Jasper," Bella spoke and I turned to face her. "I think this is going to work out well, for both of us." I smiled at her determination. I knew it would, as long as she was by my side. Our hierarchy was starting to form and we were surrounded by good people with good powers. We would no doubly rule the Americas with strength and fairness.

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><p><strong>AN- **The guard/hierarchy, whatever you want to call it, is slowly assembling

Review


	51. Chapter 51

**A/N- **A big thank you to those of you who continue to review, you're awesome.

I'm going to work quickly towards the next big thing in this story, so stay tuned for that.

There's a slight lemon in this chapter, it's short and has been put in between two page breaks. Read if you wish, or don't.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

I was out of bed and making Bella a strawberry milkshake when the door to our room opened. I immediately let out a growl, but stopped once I noticed that it was only Peter.

"It's been twenty-four hours," Peter informed me and I wondered why time passed so quickly when I was in my bubble with Bella. "The Cullen's are here and have started decorating the rooms I knew you wouldn't care about. We also finished off your office."

"Thank you, Peter," I told him sincerely. "We will be out shortly."

He nodded his head before leaving us be. I could feel Bella's amusement and then her laughter. I finished off her strawberry milkshake and brought it to her. What was so funny?

"You're naked," Bella answered my unspoken question.

"So?" I questioned confused. "Peter's seen me naked countless times." I could feel her confusion. "Our time in Maria's army, well, let's just say that clothes were hard to come by and even harder to keep." She seemed to understand. "Drink up and get ready. We need to make an appearance."

I kissed her on the lips before walking to the study in our room and shutting the door behind me. Bella had become more comfortable in our room, but her shield still stayed up, so until she dropped it I would give her the space that she needed. I immediately brought up the security cameras and observed everything that was going on. The female Cullen's were busy discussing interior design it seemed. Peter and Charlotte were in the main room keeping an eye on the newcomers, Maggie, Mary and Randall. Edward and Bree were also in that room. I looked at the courtyard and in the distance, near the mountains, I could see Carlisle and Alistair talking. I couldn't see Emmett, but I didn't care to look for him. Garrett and Kate were also missing, spending quality time together no doubt.

Bella came into the room and stood behind me, resting her head on my shoulder and looking at the screen.

"What's Maggie doing?" Bella asked confused and I zoomed in on her. She seemed overly concerned by Bree and Edward, she was just staring at them, frown in place.

"Not sure, but if she has an issue I'm sure she will voice it. Let's go." I turned off the screen and took Bella's hand in my own, pulling her to the door.

As soon as we made it down the stairs, Carlisle appeared in front of us.

"Bella, Jasper, so good to see you. Can I have a word?"

"Of course," Bella told him.

"I was just speaking to Alistair and he informed me about the current situation with the Volturi. Aro has been dethroned, but is still alive. Alistair is not sure where they're keeping him or in what state. But more worrying is Marcus, there is talk that he is going to use the upset as a way out. If he leaves I'm afraid the Volturi will fall and that cannot happen."

"Okay," I accepted. "I will call Marcus straightaway and talk directly to him about this. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Carlisle."

I stepped away from him and made a beeline towards my newly constructed office. It was on the second floor with direct access to the balcony that overlooked the courtyard. I walked through the main room, Bella's hand still within my own. As I was passing Maggie she jumped up.

"Major, can I have a word please?"

I stopped and faced her.

"All concerns should be brought to the attention of Peter or Garrett, not me," I reminded her.

"I'm aware of this fact. I brought the matter up with Peter, but he insisted that I had to talk to you." Why would he do that? "It's concerning Bree, and Peter told me that you were her mentor and any matter concerning her should be brought directly to you."

"Okay, is it a pressing matter or can it wait, for say, half an hour?" I asked her, looking over at Bree and Edward. They were none the wiser as Bella had automatically shielded Maggie with us once she found out that Peter had told her to speak with me directly.

"It can wait," she answered.

"I will call you to our office as soon as we're free," I told her and Bella retracted her shield. We made it to the door of our office and Esme, Alice, and Rose were standing there waiting for us. I guess they were in charge of finishing it. "Are you keeping an eye on Bree and Edward?" I asked Rose.

"Yes," she answered. Good.

"After you," I told Bella as I let go of her hand. She reached out and opened up the door. I heard her gasp as she entered. I followed her in and I immediately noticed that it looked exactly like my office back in my bedroom at Forks. Actually all the books were mine. It was the same. It looked good. I knew I would have to transfer some of the books and my journals to my study in our bedroom though. I did not need them falling into the wrong hands at all.

"Thank you," I told them. "It's perfect."

They we're glad we were happy.

"Yes, thank you," Bella agreed. "But excuse us."

"Of course," Esme smiled at her. We stepped into our office and closed the door.

Once thing I did notice that was different was my large desk. They had moved the drawers to the middle, so that Bella and I could each have our own space, side by side. We each had a computer, but there was only one phone in the center. I sat down on the left, that was clearly my side. Bella took the right and picked up her journal which was sitting on top. I grabbed the phone and dialed the number for the castle in Volterra. I put it on speaker phone.

"Hello, this is Gianna."

I rolled my eyes, why the Volturi didn't hire a vampire receptionist I'd never know.

"This is Major Jasper Whitlock and Isabella Swan, rulers of the Americas. We would like to speak to Marcus immediately please."

"Who?" she dumbly asked.

"Just put us through," Bella growled at her and soon we heard the awful hold music.

"Nice," I told Bella as I sent her my pride.

It took awhile, but Marcus finally picked up.

"This is Marcus," he answered and he sounded tired I noted.

"Marcus, this is the Major and Isabella. We're just checking in."

"Oh, hello. Umm, we're doing good. How are you?"

I decided to ignore his lie and answered his question instead.

"We're good. Our fortress has been completed and we have moved in. We have also started assembling our guard. The reason we're calling is to check in. We have been informed of Aro's situation, but what is troubling me is what I've heard about you." I paused to see if he would answer, but he didn't. "Are you thinking of stepping down?" I asked him outright.

"Well, yes, I was, but I don't know. I do not wish to leave Caius as the only one in power."

"Can I make a suggestion?" I asked him.

"Of course."

"Make a plan," I told him. "You have a strong guard, assess them and choose one to take your place, and if need be, choose one to take Aro's. Unless you're going to rehabilitate him."

"Rehabilitate him?" Marcus questioned, but said no more on the matter.

"Felix, Demetri, and possibly Jane would be good candidates. I want you to know that at this point in time we do not wish to rule the whole world, so the Volturi cannot fall. You need to stay in power until you set up a suitable replacement. Understand?"

"I understand. Are we done now?" He asked.

"Sure," I answered.

"Isabella are you there?" Marcus asked, surprising me.

"Of course," my mate answered. "What can I do for you, Marcus?"

"I wanted to see how you were getting along. I noted yours and the Major's connection when you were in Volterra, it was very strong, the strongest I've ever seen, but it was split down the middle."

"Ah, yes," Bella answered. "We were split in half."

"You knew this?" he asked confused. "Wait, you said 'were'?"

"Yes, some time after leaving Volterra Jasper and I made peace with our other halves and became one."

"Wow, I'm so happy for you. I can only imagine just how strong your connection is now."

"It's unbreakable," Bella told him.

"Well, be careful," he warned. "If this gets out it will be known as your weakest point and they will pray on it. I may have survived the death of my mate, but you will not survive if it happens to you. Your bond is too strong and you're not even a vampire yet. Just be careful."

"We will," Bella promised. "And stay strong, Marcus. Perhaps in a little while, once we've got things up and running around here you could come and visit."

"I would like that," he agreed. "Keep in touch. I will give you my direct line, so that you don't have to be bothered by Gianna."

I let out a laugh. "That would be great, Marcus. Talk to you soon." I disconnected the call and turned to Bella. "Well, that went well."

"Yeah," Bella agreed. "He just needs some guidance and strength. Once everything settles down, he'll be fine."

I agreed with her.

"Ready for Maggie?" I asked Bella, but she didn't answer me.

She grabbed the phone and pressed a button. I had no idea what she was doing.

"Maggie," she spoke and I could faintly hear it outside of the office. "The Major will see you now."

"What the hell?" I asked once Bella hung up the phone.

"What?" she asked confused. "Intercom. I had Peter hook it up, just because we're vampires doesn't mean we have to yell."

"But, you're not a vampire."

"Exactly."

There was a knock at the door and then Maggie entered. I motioned to the chair that sat in front of our desk and waited for her to speak.

"My power usually only works when people speak," Maggie began, "but there's something about Bree and Edward. I feel a distrust from them. I don't know what it means, but it concerns me. They say they love each other and there's truth to that, but it's also a lie. I don't know, it could be nothing. I just wanted to bring it to your attention."

"Okay, noted. Thank you for telling me, in the meantime keep an eye on them. I have a feeling they're still confused and it's just harmless, but if you ever think otherwise come straight to me. Understand?"

"I understand." Maggie left the room and I thought over everything she had just said.

I knew Bree was still adjusting to vampire life, but for Maggie to get distrust from them, it didn't make sense.

"What do you think?" I asked Bella. I had next to no ideas.

"Who knows, it's Bree and Edward."

"I remember thinking that once Edward got his mate that he would settle down and begin to grow emotionally, that hasn't happened yet. Maybe they're still adjusting."

"I say we leave it be. They're not hurting anyone except for maybe themselves, so until that changes we should just keep a close eye on them. I don't think it's anything to worry about."

"Maybe I should switch out Rose and put in Maggie. She was the one that brought this to our attention after all."

"Good idea," Bella agreed with me. "Rose will be distracted with her family here anyway."

"Let's go tell them. It will be a good first test for Maggie. Then do you wish to go on a hunt with me?" I asked her, sending her my lust. I hope she agreed. It would be our first hunt together since we had become intimate and I wanted to share this with her.

"Of course," she agreed, sending me her lust.

I got up from my desk and left promptly. I walked into the main room and spoke quickly.

"Maggie, you will be taking over watch of Bree whilst she is here. She is still a newborn, so all you will need to do is observe her and intervene if necessary," I turned my attention to Bree, "but she's doing good, so I doubt you'll have to." I then turned my attention to everyone in the Ranch, speaking loudly. "Bella and I are going on a hunt. We will be back shortly."

I didn't wait for them to reply, I just grabbed Bella, threw her on my back and took off running. I had yet to hunt in the new area. I had been surviving only on small amounts of Bella's blood, so I didn't know the area at all. I picked up Emmett's trail and followed it, hoping he had been out here hunting bears. When I found the area that was saturated by his scent, I stopped and took a deep breath.

"Moose," I told Bella as I tried to find its exact location. It had been a long time since I had moose. It tasted a lot like elk blood, but sweeter. Bella let out a giggle. I held her to me tighter. I found where the moose was and I ran, stopping just out of sight. I set Bella down. "Stay here," I told her.

I let my instincts overtake me and I ran. I saw the moose up ahead. He was all alone, but he was large. I jumped on top of him, grabbing his antlers and riding him like a bucking bull. I could feel Bella's amusement at my actions. The moose tried to buck me off, but I held tight. The moose increased its movements and I accidently snapped it's neck. Whoops. It dropped to the ground and I sunk my teeth into it and savored the taste. I didn't stop sucking until it was completely dry. I quickly dug a hole and buried it. Bella had come closer to me once the animal no longer posed a threat to her.

Once the carcass was buried I turned my attention to her. I could feel her lust, but also her curiosity. I began stalking her.

"What does it taste like?" Bella asked me. "Animal blood," she clarified.

"Kiss me and see," I told her, but I could feel her disgust.

"No, thank you." She was sure. I wouldn't push her, I knew she would never want animal blood after James had force fed her raw coyote meat.

I cut my arm and brought it to my mouth, allowing my venom to coat my mouth. It tasted horrible, how Bella could even stand the taste, I had no idea. Once all traces of animal blood were gone I spat out all the venom. "Now will you kiss me?" I asked her hopefully.

"Sure," she answered and what she did next surprised me greatly, she dropped her shield. My lust increased at her actions and I sent it to her. She was finally going to be all mine. I had been waiting for this day, for nothing to be in between us. I wasn't going to miss this opportunity and I could tell that she wasn't going to either.

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><p>I grabbed her and brought her against me tightly. My mouth found hers and I kissed her roughly. Once she tasted the venom in my mouth, she began moaning and that only spurred me on further. I pushed her against the nearest tree. I couldn't wait. My hand slid down the front of her jeans, I needed to see if she was ready for me. She was. I pulled her jeans down, careful not to rip them before I pulled my down my own. I kissed her neck, lining our bodies up and then I slid home. It felt so fucking good. I began moving slowly, allowing her to get used to me. I picked up my pace once I felt her lust flowing freely, but then it suddenly shifted and I paused immediately.<p>

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><p>Bella's lust faded and I could feel discomfort from her. Had I hurt her? I stopped completely and looked into her eyes. She was looking at me so strangely. What was going on?<p>

"Stop," Bella told me, pushing me away from her. I followed her orders, pulling out and taking a step back from her. I pulled my jeans up and she did the same.

"Bella?" I asked her confused. "Did I hurt you?" I couldn't feel any pain from her, but nothing else made any sense.

She shook her head no. She was feeling sadness. I saw a tear fall down her cheek. I went to take a step forward, but she threw up her shield, keeping me away. Why was she sad?

"Bella," I spoke again. "Let me in please." My voice was so weak, so small. "Please, I can't help you if you don't let me in. Please, Bella."

I could feel her sadness and confusion, and I watched on helplessly as she sunk to the ground, tears overtaking her. Her pain was so great. I had hurt her, I must have. I let out a whimper, her pain was my pain. As soon as she heard me she blocked me off from her. I let out a growl.

"Bella, let me in," I pleaded with her, but she wasn't listening. "Bella."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. What was she doing? Who was she calling?

I watched her like a hawk, just waiting for her to speak. And then she did and it broke my heart in two. "Peter," she said in between sobs, "I need you."

Peter? She needed Peter? Why didn't she need me? I let out a loud, frustrated growl. It was so loud that it shook the ground and everything in the immediate area ran. What was going on? Why did my mate want Peter and not me? It hurt so bad. I sunk to my knees and clutched at my chest. Why was I not enough for my mate? Why?

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><p><strong>AN- **Cliffhanger... If you review I might start next chapter off with Bella's POV, if not... Well, we'll see.


	52. Chapter 52

**A/N- **Sorry this wasn't out yesterday, I got sick.

I kept on switching between whether this should be Bella's POV or Jasper's, I've decided on Jasper's.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

_"Bella, let me in," I pleaded with her, but she wasn't listening. "Bella."_

_She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. What was she doing? Who was she calling?_

_I watched her like a hawk, just waiting for her to speak. And then she did and it broke my heart in two. "Peter," she said in between sobs, "I need you."_

_Peter? She needed Peter? Why didn't she need me? I let out a loud, frustrated growl. It was so loud that it shook the ground, and everything in the immediate area ran. What was going on? Why did my mate want Peter and not me? It hurt so bad. I sunk to my knees and clutched at my chest. Why was I not enough for my mate? Why?_

I stared at my mate intently, trying desperately to think of a way to penetrate her shield. I needed her and she needed me, but I was rooted to the ground. Peter arrived and he turned his attention to me. I could feel his anger, confusion and protectiveness.

"What happened?" he asked as he looked over my shielded mate, clearly noticing that she wasn't physically harmed.

"I don't know," I told him and he looked back at me. His eyes were kind and he looked at me sadly. This was my brother and for some reason my mate wanted my brother. "Help her," I pleaded him. She wanted him, maybe he could help her and we would be fine.

I could feel Peter's indecisiveness, but he nodded his head and approached Bella's shield, she let him in. Peter walked over to her and knelt in front of her. I moved to the side, so that I could read their lips.

"What happened?" Peter asked her. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head no before replying, "I had a dream." A dream? "I've had it before, but it was always blurry. It finally un-blurred."

"What was it?" Peter asked carefully. "Are we in danger?"

Bella shook her head no and her eyes met mine. She covered up her mouth, so I couldn't see. I watched Peter desperately. He became stock still and he had a blank look on his face. What had she told him? I had never seen Peter look so shocked before. Usually he just brushed whatever it was off and his gift of knowing shit would assure him of the right path.

"Are you sure?" Peter asked her and she nodded her head. "Tell me the details. Does it result in any deaths? Are you sure this is the only course of action?"

"It can go either way," Bella answered. "Either way Jasper and I are together and we're happy, it just changes the details."

"You need to tell him," Peter told her forcefully. "He needs to know."

"I know," Bella replied, "But I'm scared. This can't be the right course. I just want to forget it and move on. Jasper and I still stay together, so what does it matter?"

"You don't want this-" Peter started, but stopped when he looked at me.

Bella seemed to understand him and she shrugged her shoulders in response. "I don't know."

"You need to tell Jasper," Peter said once again. "And you need to get out of this shield. He thinks you're hurt. He's ready to snap. Reassure him that you're fine, and then tell him. I'll be there with you in case it goes badly, but let's do it at the ranch, in your room. Trust me."

Bella nodded her head and she pulled back her shield. Her sadness and fear hit me, but I didn't care. I had her in my arms in an instance, checking her over for any injuries.

"Don't do that ever again," I growled at Bella, checking her over once again.

"Sorry, I panicked," Bella answered, fisting her hands in my hair.

"Are you going to tell me what this was all about?" I asked her and she nodded her head. I could feel her resolve. "Good."

I picked her up and cradled her to my chest. Peter ran back to the house with us and I focused on his emotions. He was contemplative, confused, and fearful. That worried me most. Peter hardly ever felt fear and when he did it was usually to do with a member of his family. What had Bella seen? Was it a threat to us? She had said that no one would die, yet Peter was still fearful. I picked up my pace, wanting to know sooner rather than later.

We reached the ranch and I burst through the front door. Everyone was standing there, staring at us. I could clearly feel their confusion. I guess they heard my growl from the forest. I would stop, but this was a more pressing matter. "Garrett," I spoke quickly, "with us." If Peter was fearful and clearly on Bella's side, I didn't want to be in there alone with them. I needed a third party.

Peter used his fingerprint to unlock the door to our room and I sat Bella safely inside. I walked in further.

"What's going on?" Garrett asked and I could hear Peter shut the door behind him.

I grabbed the chair from my office and sat it down in the main room, leading Bella to it. She sat down and stared at her lap. Peter went and stood by her side. I stood in front of her, ten feet back. Garrett stayed behind me, nearest to the door.

"What did you see?" I asked Bella and I could feel Garrett's confusion. I blocked his emotions completely.

"First you need to understand something," Bella told me. "I've seen our future and we are still together and strong. This dream has come to me before, but it's always been blurry, just out of reach. You need to know that what I'm about to say does not need to happen. Nothing needs to change."

"Okay," I said, only because she paused. I wanted to yell at her to just spit it out already, but I was trying to give her time.

"If I didn't stop us, just now in the forest, it would have resulted in a child," Bella told me calmly.

What? A child? Bella and me?

"Mexico, 1888," Peter told me and I growled at him.

"You don't need to remind me, I remember," I growled loudly at him.

It was in Mexico, 1888. Maria had wanted to gain more territory in the South. With my help, Maria's army had become the most prestigious. Someone came from South America wanting to join. Maria didn't want him, so in desperation he told stories of a vampire hybrid living in South America. Half vampire, half human. No one believed him, except Peter and I, but we kept our mouths shut. This was not information that needed to get out. We weren't sure about the circumstances, other than the fact that the mother was human and died giving birth, but we knew that if this became common knowledge then everyone would start creating hybrids. Maria killed the guy and I kept my ear to the ground, but I never heard any more on the matter of hybrids until this day.

"What are you thinking?" I asked Bella. I knew what I was thinking, but I wanted to hear her thoughts first.

"I gave up the idea of children a long time ago," she told me and I could hear the truth in her voice, but I could also sense some longing.

"Bella, we cannot have a child," I told her sternly. "We are in a position of power, and aside from the fact that the last person who carried a hybrid died during childbirth, we cannot let this information get out. Vampires and humans are bad enough, but a vampire/human hybrid is not acceptable. They are like an immortal child."

"An immortal child?" Bella questioned.

"Yes, a human child who is turned into a vampire at a young age. They can never grow."

"But he does grow, I've seen him grow," Bella angrily defended.

"Him?" I questioned her, trying to keep my voice level.

"Yes, a boy. He has curly brown hair, blue eyes and his name is Monroe."

Monroe? I shook my head. I could feel her determination. She may have been conflicted in the beginning, but now I could tell that she wanted this kid. I was still undecided.

"Monroe?" I asked. "That's his name?"

"I think so," she answered unsure. "I don't know why we would name him Monroe, but that's his name."

"I know why his name is Monroe," Garrett said, speaking up. I didn't bother to turn and face him. "When Jasper was human, in the civil war, he got a letter from home, it was from Monroe County. That's his birthplace I believe."

Was it? I tried to remember. I didn't remember much about my human life, but it seemed familiar. So this kid really was mine and I named it after my birthplace. I shook my head. This could not happen. I couldn't let this information get out.

"What are you thinking?" Bella asked me.

"I'm thinking that this is a complication we don't need," I told her truthfully and I saw her face fall. "Bella, we cannot have a child. If things were different I may consider it, but we just can't. We are the rulers of the Americas, we are in a position of power, we're celebrities if you would. Everyone is going to be watching us closely, it's never going to work."

Bella folded her arms across her chest.

"I'm sorry, Bella, it's just not possible," I told her, coming over and kneeling in front of her.

"What if it is?" Peter asked me and I sent him my confusion and anger. "What if I can track down this hybrid and get all the answers we need. We are in the unknown right now, but maybe once we know all the facts we can draw up a plan."

I could feel Bella's hope at Peter's words and I let out a growl. Why did he keep at this? Even I was picturing this blue eyed boy in my thoughts, and his name was Monroe, why did she have to tell me that? He seemed so real, like if I denied her now I would be killing him.

"Fine," I snapped. "Peter and Charlotte will try and track down this hybrid and in the meantime we do nothing and we don't talk of this. Once we have the facts we will have a conference, everyone in this room, if there is a workable plan we will consider it. Don't hold your breath though, Bella."

Her happiness shone through.

"Peter," she spoke excitedly. "Have you finished the jackets yet?"

Jackets?

"A couple, they're just mock ups," Peter answered her.

"Grab one and show us what it looks like."

Peter nodded his head and left the room.

"Jackets?" I questioned Bella confused.

"Yes, a uniform of sorts, for official business. It's like the Volturi robes, but way cooler," she explained and I sent her some confusion. "You'll see in a minute. We will be wearing black military style fitted jackets. Ours will have red on the shoulders. Dark gold on Peter, Garrett and their mates. A brighter yellow for the next step down. And just plain black for the others. We only wear them for official business though."

It was smart I had to admit. I didn't think of any of these things, but clearly Bella did. I reached up and gave her a kiss. Peter came back in and I turned to face him. The jacket was perfect. It was solid black, but some detail across the chest. The band on the shoulders was gold. It fitted him completely, showing off his strong frame. But best of all was the Whitlock crest that was positioned almost over the heart, on the left side. They looked good. Smart, but not intimidating. It definitely reminded me of my civil war jacket, but it was sleeker. I definitely approved. I sent Bella my pride.

"Good," Bella told Peter. "Grab one for Charlotte and head South to find the hybrid."

"Once found call us immediately, do not leave the area, understand?" I asked him and he nodded his head before leaving. We would need him in the area in case we had any further questions. "Garrett, your thoughts on the matter."

"I like the jackets, sir, very fitting. Just like the good old days, huh? When do I get mine?" His excitement washed over me and I turned to face him.

"The child, Garrett," I snapped at him.

"Oh, right. I don't know. Children are fun, but a lot of hard work. Maybe it being half vampire will make it easier to handle, who knows. I say you wait until Peter has more information before making any decisions."

Well that was helpful, not.

"Leave us," I barked at him, "and let everyone know of Peter's departure and that you are now in charge."

"You will need to go out there," Garrett told me. "The Cullen's especially think that you harmed Bella whilst hunting."

Of course they did.

"We will be out soon," I told him.

Once he left I turned my attention to Bella.

"Are you mad?" she asked me.

"Yes and no," I answered honestly. "You can't shut me out, Bella, no matter how in shock you are. And you also shouldn't call for Peter and not me. I could have killed him you know. I am your mate and you should come to me first always. I will let it slide this time as this is a pretty unique experience."

"Do you really not want Monroe?" Bella asked me sadly.

"Do you have to call him that?" I countered.

"It's his name," Bella told me. "I'm not going to call him 'it'."

"He doesn't even exist yet," I reminded her gently.

"I know. So?" she questioned bringing me back to her original question.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, now that we were alone. "I never thought having a child was possible and I don't really want to raise one in this world, but then again, children tend to make humans better, so maybe having this child will make us both better. I really don't know. Truthfully though, I do not want to lose you in childbirth."

"You won't," Bella reassured me, her hand on my cheek. "Worst case scenario, you just change me, but I have a feeling I make it out of this one alive."

I didn't know how she knew, but she seemed sure. Could I do this? Could we do this? Raise a hybrid baby whilst keeping it a secret from the vampire world. I wasn't sure that we could. Wait for Peter, I reminded myself. Once we had the facts we could make a decision. But then, in the front of my mind, was an image of Bella holding a baby boy, cooing to him, calling him Monroe. I knew it would be tough to deny her, and myself, but if the news from Peter was bad, I would be the strong one and I would make sure we never had the child, no matter the cost.

"We should go see the others," I told her as I stepped back.

"What are we going to tell them?" she asked me as she stood up.

"The truth," I answered and I could feel her confusion. "We tell them that you got a vision and you shut me out. Peter and Charlotte have gone off to deal with it."

Bella agreed that was the best plan. We changed clothes, just to avoid further questions and made our way to the main room. Everyone was there. The Cullen's were sitting on the big wrap around couch, the newcomers were standing by the windows, and Kate and Garrett were in an armchair in the corner.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked. "We heard the scream and then Peter took off running."

Scream? Did I actually scream and not just growl in my confusion? I didn't know.

"Bella had a vision of the future," I told them all and I could feel Alice searching the future, but as we were undecided at this point she saw nothing at all. "In her shock, Bella shielded me out and Peter was called to assist. The vision is nothing for any of us to worry about. No harm comes from it. Peter and Charlotte have gone out on a mission to make sure of this, but it really is fine."

"And you're fine, Bella?" Rose asked her concerned. "You don't need me to hit Jasper do you?"

"No." Bella let out a laugh. "If anyone should be hit, it's me." She turned to me and shielded us. "I'll never shield you out again, my mate. I just panicked."

"I forgive you," I told her as I brought her into a hug, holding her to me tightly. She dropped her shield from around us.

"Umm," Emmett said clearing his throat and standing up. "When do we get one of those kickass jackets Peter was wearing?"

Ah, Emmett, I sure did miss him the most.

"Soon," I assured him. "As soon as they are made. Everyone here will get one if they choose to stay," I told them all.

"Jasper," Carlisle spoke up, stepping forward. "Esme and I have decided to stay in Forks, with Edward and Bree, for awhile longer. Just until they settle in."

"Bree is still under my watch," I told Carlisle forcefully. "She will be assessed soon and a decision will be made. Do not leave with her until you have my permission," I warned him.

I knew that I needed to talk to Maggie again about the situation before letting Edward and Bree out of my sight.

"When Esme and the girls have finished decorating the house," Bella told him, "We will have our decision by then."

Carlisle agreed.

"I'm going to leave when we're done," Alice spoke up next. "Charlie said I can stay with him and the Clearwater's until they move to Montana. Is that acceptable?"

"Sure, Alice," I smiled fondly at her. "Be with your mate. If we need you, we will call." I could feel her gratitude.

"Anyone else planning on leaving once the house is complete?" I asked them, turning my attention to the newcomers.

"I'm staying," Maggie said surely.

"We would like to stay for the time being as well," Randall spoke up for him and Mary.

Alistair was still nowhere to be seen. Probably hiding up in the mountains.

"Good, I'm glad." And I really was. We did not need our guard leaving us before we even got started. "Garrett and Kate, a word please?" I asked them before leading Bella to our office. One person had stayed quiet during all this and I needed their thoughts.

"What can we do for you, sir?" Garrett asked as we all sat down.

"Kate," I turned my attention to her. "Garrett is your mate, correct?"

"Correct," she answered and I could feel that they were.

"What about your family? Your sisters?" I asked, they were a wildcard. "Are you happy to stay here with your mate or is your family more important?"

"I've spent one thousand years with my sisters, so I do not mind being separated from them. My place right now is next to my mate, and his place is at your side, so I will stay here."

"I love you, Katie," Garrett said, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it.

"And your family?" Bella asked and I could tell that she didn't care much for them.

"They live in Alaska, it's a short run away if need be, but I'm enjoying my freedom."

"Good, good," I answered. "We're happy to have you here, Kate, you are dismissed."

They left the room and Bella turned her attention to me.

"I wonder if Peter and Charlotte will find anything," she spoke and I closed my eyes. This would not do at all. I could not think anymore of the child that very well may never exist. We needed a distraction.

"Rules and laws," I told Bella and she huffed. "We need them, pronto." I could feel her dislike. "Ruling this world can't be all fun and games, Bella. We need to nail down everything and start getting our law put into place. What do you have so far?"

Bella grabbed her journal, found the right page, and we got to work.

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><p><strong>AN- **So thoughts? Should they or shouldn't they? Review.


	53. Chapter 53

**A/N- **Thanks for the reviews.

Sorry it took a few days. My immune system is bad and I picked up some kind of virus and my chronic fatigue syndrome has set back in. It sucks, but hopefully I will get better soon.

We hit 200,000 words, YAY! Let's have a party with pie and cake. Everyone is invited.

I drew up a quick picture of what the Whitlock crest looks like, link is on my profile. I'm not the best artist, but check it out. I will remind you again at the end of the chapter.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"This is so frustrating," Bella groaned, throwing her pencil across the room. "Do we really need laws?" she asked me and I grabbed the paper she was working on, looking it over.

"This won't work," I told her, pointing to one of her laws. "You can't force vampires to register, it would be a disaster."

"How else are we going to keep track of everyone and what's going on?" Bella asked confused.

"Easy, we have scouts placed throughout the Americas. They will keep an eye on their area and report to us if need be."

"Why would anyone agree to that job?" she asked me and I could feel her confusion.

"Simple, they can stay in the area they like and we will pay them to keep on top of things," I explained.

"I guess that will work," Bella sighed. "Can we have a break yet?" she looked at the clock. "We've been working for twelve hours."

"You can if you wish," I told her, "but I want to keep on working on this."

"But, Jasper," Bella said as she stood up, pulling my chair away from the desk and straddling my lap. "We both need a break."

I could feel her lust.

"No, none of that, Bella," I warned her, "we are not having sex until we hear from Peter."

"But I can use my shield," Bella argued, but I wasn't going to take that chance.

"No," I said firmly. "Peter would have just landed in Santiago. Be patient."

"What if the results are bad? Are we never going to have sex again?" Bella asked, grinding her hips on me.

No more sex? No, that wasn't a suitable option at all.

"If that's the case, we will figure something out. A protection method. Or I will just change you into a vampire."

I could feel Bella's anger.

"You would wouldn't you?" she accused me as she got off my lap. What was she getting at? "Damn men, all think the same. Can't have sex, so I'll just change her into a vampire."

In my clear confusion, Bella left our office and slammed the door behind her. I let her go. I could feel her irritability and I didn't want to be anywhere near her. I turned my attention back to the laws we were creating.

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><p><strong>BPOV<strong>

"Do I need to hit him?" Rose asked me as soon as she saw the scowl on my face. I shook my head no. We were both confused, tired and frustrated. I just needed some space.

Monroe felt so real to me. I had seen him and that dream never wavered. His features changed slightly, due to the unknown, but he always had brown hair and blue eyes. He looked a lot like me, but he had Jasper's eyes. I knew Jasper wanted him just as much as me, I could see that, but he was afraid. He didn't want to bring a child into this world, into our world, it wouldn't be fair. But if we could protect him from the bad, just maybe.

"What is going on?" Emmett asked. "I can feel his frustration from here."

"Nothing," I answered as I sat down on the couch in between Rose and Em. "Creating vampire laws is hard," I told them as an explanation.

"Truth," Emmett agreed and I let out a laugh. Lately I had missed the simplicity of Jasper's siblings.

"You're my guard correct, Rose?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"Can you get me something to eat?" I asked her.

"No," she answered immediately. "I'm your guard, Bella, not your maid. Get Esme to get it. She's currently in your room right now."

"She is?" I question confused.

"Yeah, they wanted to get your room done whilst you and Jasper were preoccupied. They thought they might not get another chance."

"Yes," Emmett agreed. "You two are worse than Rose and I. At least we come up for air every now and then."

"So, how was it?" Rose asked, dropping her voice. "Was he rough with you?"

"I really don't want to talk about this," I replied, but she dismissed me.

"Of course you do, Bella, every girl wants to talk about it deep down, so tell me all the details."

"Umm," I faltered. "It was rough, yet sweet. I don't know. We enjoyed ourselves."

"Lame," Emmett told me and Rose agreed.

"I don't care, it's private between Jasper and I." I grabbed out my phone and sent off a message to Esme to please get me some food. I really was hungry and that wasn't helping my anger at all.

"Tell us about the hunting trip," Emmett gossiped like a schoolgirl. "Tell us the real reason Jasper screamed."

"We already told you."

"Come on, Bella, something, anything," he pleaded, really looking like a teddy bear.

"She was telling the truth," Maggie said, coming into the room. Edward and Bree following her.

"See," I told Emmett. "I told you everything and it was the truth." He huffed, but dropped the matter. I met Maggie's eyes and nodded my thanks. I think she would work out well on our guard. She may even become trusted and join the ranks just below Peter and Garrett. Time would tell, but I had a good feeling about her.

"Bella," Edward spoke and I turned my attention to him.

"Yes, Edward," I replied kindly, but I was dreading what he was going to say.

"I want to thank Jasper for helping me with my mate," he began, but I waved him off.

"Jasper's in his office," I told him, pointing to the door. "Go and tell him yourself."

Edward looked worriedly at the door, but got up anyway. He knocked on the door before entering.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

There was a knock at my office door and I let out a groan. Who was it? Sure, I could use a distraction from the laws and thinking about Bella, but then again.

Edward stepped inside and I let out another groan. What the hell did he want?

"Jasper," he began as he stood awkwardly by the door. I pointed to the chair in front of the desk and he nervously sat down.

I gauged his emotions and he was definitely nervous and scared. I resisted rolling my eyes.

"Edward," I deadpanned when he stayed silent.

"I want to thank you, Jasper." For what? "For helping with the Bree situation. It's just, she's better now, we're better now. So, thank you."

Wow, I guess it must have taken a lot for him to admit that to me. I would give him a pass.

"You're welcome. How are things between you and Bree? Seriously, no lies."

"They're good," Edward answered, his confusion overtaking him. "Really good actually." This was news to me, but I kept my mouth shut. "Every day we get to know each other a little better and we grow closer."

"And you believe she's your mate?" I asked him.

"Yes," he answered and I could feel he was telling the truth. "It's not like I imagined it would be though."

"How so?"

"I don't know. I like her and I care for her deeply, but it feels as though something's missing. Maybe we just need to grow closer. When I think back to how it was when we first met, well we've come so far since then. Maybe with time we will be fully mated."

"Hmm, maybe," I replied. It could be the case. Bree was still settling into her new life no doubt. Maybe her confusion was affecting the mating bond with Edward.

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><p><strong>BPOV <strong>(_meanwhile)_

"So Bree," Emmett began. "How's Eddie in the sack?"

"Emmett," Rose warned, though I could tell she wanted to hear the answer as well.

We all turned our attention to Bree.

"Well, good," she answered.

"Did you ever have sex with Diego, or before you were changed?" Rose asked her and she shook her head no.

"So you were a virgin?" Emmett questioned excitedly. "Eddie's a virgin too. Oh man, that is priceless. So how was it really?"

Two vampire virgins? Surely that presented some difficulties. I was so glad Jasper had experience for our first time together.

"It was fine," Bree answered evasively.

"This is a sacred place," Rose told her. "Whatever you say here will be kept between us four."

I could see Bree didn't believe her, so I extended my shield around us. This seemed to calm her.

"None of this will be spoken of?" she asked almost fearfully.

We all assured her that she was safe.

"Well, truthfully, we haven't had sex yet-"

"Oh, man," Emmett said cutting her off.

I glared at him and he apologized.

"Continue, Bree," Rose spoke sweetly.

"Don't get me wrong, we've done everything else and it has been enjoyable. Edward just wants to wait until marriage."

Emmett couldn't hold it in any longer and he burst out in laughter. Rose and I managed to restrain ourselves.

"When are you getting married?" Emmett asked in between his laughs.

"I don't know," Bree replied sadly. "He said when the time is right. I don't know what he means by that."

"I don't think that's his condition," Rose spoke up. "I think he's afraid."

"Afraid of what?" I asked her. "That he'll be no good?"

"No, afraid that Bree's not his mate," she answered.

"Rose," I admonished immediately. She should not be saying that in front of Bree. "Ignore her," I told Bree as I walked over to her side and put my arm around her. "You and Edward are mates, trust that. He wouldn't have saved you from the battle if you weren't."

I saw Esme standing just outside my shield with my food. I pulled back the shield and walked over to her.

"Here you go, Bella," she spoke kindly.

"Thank you, Esme," I took the sandwich and strawberry milkshake off her and dug in.

"What's going on down here," Esme asked as she looked over us all. "I hope no one is ganging up on you, Bree."

"No, Mrs. Cullen," Bree answered. "We're just talking is all."

"Well don't let them. I know how Emmett can get."

"Hey," Emmett quickly defended.

"It's fine, Esme," I spoke up. "I'm keeping an eye on them."

She smiled at me. Edward came out of Jasper's office and he looked more nervous than when he went in there. I watched him closely as he walked over to Bree and pulled her into his lap. They seemed like any other set of mates. They were caring and loving towards each other after they had been apart and they automatically sought out each other for comfort. So what was their problem? I had no idea.

"Bella," Edward spoke, "Jasper wants to see you."

"Of course he does," I replied, not moving at all. We did not need to be in the same room right now.

"Bella, are you denying the Jazz-man?" Emmett questioned, I just ignored him.

I sat quietly, just finishing off my sandwich. I was on the last bite when Jasper finally stuck his head out the door and boy was he not happy.

"Isabella, get in here now!" he yelled at me and I watched as everyone cowered away from him. I met his gaze before looking at Rose instead. Jasper didn't like that.

My view became blocked and I looked up into the black eyes of my mate. He didn't say a word, he just bent down and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder.

"Isabella?" Maggie questioned concerned. I waved her off. I was fine and Jasper was right. It wasn't fair of me to let him work on the laws all by himself.

He kicked the office door behind us before sitting me on the ground. I didn't get to move before he pinned me against the wall, hitting me with his lust and annoyance. I didn't give in to him.

"What?" I asked him as he stepped away. "I was just spending time with your family."

"They're your family too," Jasper said as he sat back down at his desk and picked up his pen.

"Maybe," I agreed. Though to me they seemed more like Jasper's family. I would gladly take Rose and Em , but he could keep Edward.

I could feel his annoyance and I made my way around to my side of the desk, sitting down. He passed me a piece of paper and I looked over it. There were several laws lined out and I agreed with all of them.

"Do you think we should create some laws about hybrids?" I asked him. "You know, just in case, so that was we can cover our asses."

"What do you mean?"

"Like, maybe we can make it illegal."

"That's not going to work," he told me. "You can't make something illegal especially if it's something you've done yourself. Anyway, I'm working on a plan." He was? "And once we hear from Peter I'll let you know if it's feasible or not."

"So you want Monroe?" I asked him. He always seemed to switch back and forth on the matter.

"I don't know," he breathed out. "I'm not completely against it." Hearing him say that made me so happy.

"Do you think we'll make good parents?" I asked, wanting to know his honest opinion, wanting him to reassure me.

"I don't know, Bella. Maybe." Well that wasn't the answer I was after. "Can we not discuss this until we know more?"

"Okay," I agreed. I could see his point. Why fool ourselves into thinking this was our future when the circumstances surrounding it might be impossible. Still, thoughts of Monroe never left my mind and I desperately hoped that we found a way.

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><p><strong>AN- **This chapter is slightly shorter, but I'm sick and I wanted to get something to you guys. Peter will be back with the info on hybrids next chapter.

Don't forget to review and don't forget to check out the link on my profile page for what the Whitlock crest looks like. Review and have a wonderful day.


	54. Chapter 54

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing and for your kinds words.

I finally woke up not feeling like I've been in a coma for months. So yay for that.

Enjoy Peter's findings.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

We were sitting in our office, working on the new vampire laws which had become the norm. Bella and I were still on edge, just waiting for Peter to call, so when the phone rang and I literally jumped for it.

"Put it on speaker phone?" Bella demanded.

"Send Garrett a message to join us," I told her as I put the phone on speaker and answered it, "hello."

"It's me," Peter informed us.

"Hold for a moment," I told him, waiting for Garrett to join us. I didn't want to have to repeat anything. Garrett came in and closed the door behind him. "Okay, tell us what you found out."

"Okay," Peter accepted. "We found the hybrid. His name is Nahuel and he's perpetually seventeen years old."

"And how long has he been seventeen?" Bella asked.

"About 150 years," Peter answered. "He was conceived whilst his mother was human and he grew fast and strong. The pregnancy only lasts one month, during that time, Pire, his mother, survived on a mixture of human food and blood. Nahuel grew unbelievably strong and as a result he used his teeth to break his way out. This is how Pire died. Nahuel literally killed his mother escaping."

"Then it's a no," I spoke up. "I will not risk Bella."

"Hold on a minute," Garrett spoke, "if we time it right then we can do an emergency c-section, get the child out before it can do any permanent damage, right?"

"Continue, Peter," Bella spoke, grasping my hand tightly in her own. I could feel just how desperately she wanted this to happen.

"The only way to survive if the child claws its way out is to change Bella, injecting her with venom, but as Garrett said, a c-section might save us from having to do this. Once the hybrid is born it grows rapidly. It has both vampire and human traits. They are beautiful and have superhuman abilities, but they also have a functioning heart and blood flows throughout their body. They eat both human food and drink blood, but Nahuel said he prefers human blood, and they sleep. They also don't sparkle in the sun. It's the best of both worlds really."

"What's the growth rate?" I asked him impatiently.

"They reach full maturity at age seven and that makes them in their late teens physically. At this time they are fully formed and no longer seem to age. Now this is where it gets cloudy. What we have deduced is that for the first year they grow the most and then it slows. Just days after birth they are able to speak in full sentences and walk. At the end of the first year the hybrid will be like that of an eleven year old and each year that follows will show the child as aging normally, like a human, until they hit full maturity."

"So we would only have a problem for a year," Bella spoke out loud.

"Technically," Garrett agreed. "If it's true and a hybrid will age normally after one year then it is possible to have him here. Hybrids have heartbeats and he will be mature enough not to act like a supernatural being. We just tell everyone that his family, Bella's cousin or something like that. Bella's father is going to be living here anyway, so it makes sense. Then once he comes of age, if needed, we will tell everyone the truth."

"It's going to be a lot of work and it has its risks, but it is doable, Jasper," Peter told me. "And hybrids can be gifted. Perhaps your child will hold a gift that will help shield him in this world."

"There's still too many unknowns," I weakly argued as my mind ran through all the possibilities.

"Jasper?" Bella said, hope ever present.

"Give me a minute," I told her, drawing myself in to my mind.

We would have to keep the pregnancy and first year a secret, which would be doable, but what about Bella? Would she be strong enough to carry this child? Maybe if we stocked up on blood and kept a close eye on her, but what if she died, just like Nahuel's mother? I couldn't handle that. I wanted to be with her forever. I knew she was strong, maybe her shield would help her. Why was this so confusing? So hard? Say we made it through the first year, I guess Garrett's plan was viable. No one would question us if we told them that the kid was related to Charlie and had no other family. We would have to be careful, but it was doable.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. It was risky, but doable. There was only one question I needed to answer, did I want this? I looked at my mate and I could feel her hope, she wanted this, for whatever reason, she wanted this so bad.

"Tell me why?" I asked her desperately. "Tell me why you want Monroe?"

"Simple," she answered with a smile, "because he will be mine and yours."

Mine and yours? A child, my child. Bella's brown hair, my blue human eyes. He would be ours. We would become a family. I would be able to love someone else, my son, my little solider. I wondered if he would be more like me, or more like Bella. Maybe he would be the good in both of us, maybe he would be the bad. I refused to believe that though. Monroe? My son. I would have a son. For some reason I just couldn't shake that thought from my head. I didn't want to raise a child in this world. I didn't want him to have the same upbringing as me. To be forged in war, death and destruction, but then I look at my mate and I know that she would keep him safe. She would make sure he was going to be loved and cared for.

Worst case scenario? I asked myself. Worst case, Bella would finally become a vampire. I could deal with that couldn't I? Yes. Forever with Bella is all I've ever wanted.

The problem? The pregnancy. One month, Bella would have to be hidden for one month. People would notice, people would question. I could tell everyone she was making the change, but what would happen when they found out that she was still human, that we had lied to them? No, that would be no good. I desperately tried to think of a solution. I could see Monroe slipping through my fingers. My son, my impossible son, but then it hit me, Zafrina. Zafrina was the key. I pulled myself out of my thoughts and turned to Bella.

"Let's do this," I told her, kissing the back of her hand.

I could feel her shock. "Are you sure?" she asked me, hope ever present.

"Yes," I told her. "We can do this. It is risky, but it is possible."

"Why?" Bella asked me, still shocked.

"He's my son," I answered, shrugging my shoulders. "Monroe is our son. We owe it to him, and ourselves to at least try."

"I love you so much." Bella launched herself out of her chair and ended up in my lap.

"Peter," I spoke. "Find the Amazon coven and do whatever you have to do to get Zafrina to come back with you. Promise her anything. Do not return unless she is with you."

"Yes, Major," he agreed and then the line went dead.

"This information does not get out," I warned Bella and Garrett. "No one else can know of this."

"Rose should know," Bella spoke up. "She is my guard and I want her support."

I thought it over. Rose has always wanted children, so I knew she would do anything she could to protect Bella and Monroe. Plus Bella needed a female she fully trusted and she trusted Rose. This would not be a walk in the park and Bella would need extra support.

"Okay," I agreed, "but we do not tell her until you are pregnant."

"When will that be?" Bella asked me excitedly and I waved Garrett out of the room.

"We must wait for Peter to return," I told her and I could feel her sadness. "We need Zafrina here."

"Why? Who is Zafrina?" Bella almost accused.

"Zafrina is a part of the Amazon coven, but it's not her I'm after, it's her gift," I explained.

"What is her gift?"

"Zafrina has the ability to create illusions. She can make you see anything she wants."

"So?" Bella questioned confused.

"You are going to be pregnant, Bella, anyone who sees you is going to be able to tell. We need to keep this a secret. No one can know about Monroe until his first year is up and we may need to reassess this plan later on as I have a feeling people are going to be able to sense that Monroe is not human, but for now it's not important. I need Zafrina here to create the illusion that you are still here by my side. Your shield will be very helpful, no one will question the illusion as you'll have no heartbeat or scent when you're fully shielded. It is the only way I can keep it all a secret."

"So, say I'm in our room, being pregnant and everything, Zafrina will be able to make it seem as though I'm right by your side?" I nodded my head yes. "What if she doesn't agree?"

"We will promise her whatever she wants." I didn't know if she would agree to our plans, but I had to try. Zafrina was definitely the key to all of his working out. "Plus she is a friend of the Cullen's."

"Is there anyone that Carlisle doesn't know?" Bella asked. "He seems to have met everyone."

"Carlisle is a very friendly person," I explained to her, "and before he created his family he was very lonely. I suspect he sought out as many vampires as he could in his first two hundred years and as a result he befriended a lot of misfit vampires."

"That's pretty impressive," Bella's amazement hit me.

I agreed. My phone beeped and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Peter, that was quick. _Zafrina will only come if her sisters can come as well. Senna and Kachiri._ I showed Bella the message.

"How'd he get to them so quick?" she asked bewildered.

I asked Peter this and his reply came back immediately. _Kachiri knew the hybrid and brought Char and I to him. So?_

"More allies?" Bella questioned.

"I guess," I replied. If Kachiri had helped Peter track down Nahuel then she could most likely be trusted. Bottom line, we needed Zafrina and this would be a small price to pay. _They can all come_. I sent back to Peter.

_We'll be home in less than twenty hours_, Peter informed me. Twenty hours, so soon.

"They will be here in less than twenty-four hours," I told Bella as I pocketed my phone.

"Can we talk?" Bella asked me and I frowned. "We just made a huge life decision and I think we should talk about it."

"Okay," I accepted, turning to face her.

"In our room?" she suggested and I shrugged. If she wished. I stood up and opened the door for her.

Bella put her shield around us and we walked straight to our room, not letting anyone disturb us. We walked into our room and I was glad to find it was empty and finished. I could feel Bella's amazement as she looked around our new room. It had no windows, so the lights had been made to look like sunlight. Esme and the girls had done a really good job. At the end, against the wall, stood a huge four poster bed. It looked elegant. There was an antique wardrobe, filled with our clothes. A couch and some armchairs sitting around a TV planted on the wall. The kitchen had been finished off, complete with new appliances and a dining room table. My study had been made up similar to our office on the second floor. It was all done and it was all prefect.

I made Bella something to eat before we sat down on the couch, facing each other. I waited until she was finished eating before speaking.

"So?" I questioned her.

"You want Monroe?" she asked me and I nodded my head. "Tell me why?"

"Because he's ours," I answered using her own words against her, but she wasn't having any of that. "He's our son, Bella. I love you so fucking much, you know this, and just the thought of loving someone else, loving my own son just as much, makes me so fucking happy. Happiness isn't something I've always had, but I'm willing to try. Monroe may cause our demise, but at least I can say I got to meet him. At least I got a change to call him my son. What about you?"

"As soon as the shock wore off," Bella admitted truthfully, "I fell in love with him. He's, as you said, our son. He's our son, Jasper. It just, it just doesn't seem possible, but it is and I'm so happy. We are going to have a son."

"It's not going to be easy," I told her.

"I know," Bella agreed.

"You might die," I finally voiced my fear.

"I might, and if I do, you'll change me." I was still frowning, so she continued. "It's worth the risk, Jasper. Monroe's worth it. Truth of the matter is that we could be challenged by a superior vampire any day and I could die. I am human, death is a natural part of my life, at least this way we get Monroe. It's worth the risk."

"I know that." And I did. This child, Monroe, he was worth it. He was worth everything.

"So we agree?" Bella asked.

"We agree."

"And we'll do anything we can to protect our son?"

"We will."

"I love you, Jasper. I don't know what I would have done if you said no," she admitted fearfully.

"You would have run away with Edward, had a baby girl, and named her something weird," I answered with a smile and Bella hit me.

"That is not funny. Anyway, did you hear?"

"Hear what?" I asked confused.

"Bree told us that her and Eddie haven't had sex yet."

Well that was news to me, but then again it didn't surprise me.

"Those two are weird," I admitted. "I mean, they're mates. I can feel their love towards each other, but only those two can fuck up something as instinctual as mates."

Bella let out a laugh. "Oh, to be a fly on that wall."

"Careful what you wish for," I told Bella as I switched on the TV and brought up the security camera feed. I found Bree and Edward sitting in the courtyard. He had his back up against one of the pillars and Bree was in his lap.

"Do we have sound?" Bella asked excitedly. "Do we have popcorn?"

I rolled my eyes as she jumped up to grab something to snack on.

"I'll just relay it to you," I told her as she sat back down next to me with some kind of snack in her hands, her eyes glued firmly on the TV.

I focused on Edward and Bree.

"He just asked what her favorite animal is," I informed Bella.

"Oh my god," Bella said, mouth full of food. "Are they playing twenty questions? Get a new method guys, that's so lame." I shook my head. Bella was still confusing me. "Wait, what did she answer with?"

"I don't know, you were talking," I deadpanned and Bella pouted.

"What are they saying now?" she asked me expectantly.

"Something about dogs."

"Maybe that was her favorite animal. What are they saying about dogs?"

"I don't know, something about getting a puppy."

"They cannot get a puppy, that poor puppy. We should make a law against that. No vampire/pet relationships, oh and no immortal puppies and kitties."

Who the hell would make an immortal puppy? Emmett would, I realized. Maybe Bella was on to something.

"Are you okay?" I asked Bella. Seriously, she was acting so strange. She was carefree, I hardly ever felt that from her.

"Not nice to ask, Jasper," she hit me again. "I'm just happy, okay?"

"Okay," I accepted.

"But I'm serious about those laws," she told me.

"Whatever you wish, dear," I mocked her and received another hit. "You better stop that," I warned her, "or Monroe will be here sooner than planned." I felt her lust and I realized my mistake instantly.

"You know I don't care about that." She straddled my lap, grinding on top of me. "The sooner the better actually."

"No, we must wait," I told her, desperately trying to hold onto my resolve.

"Stop being an old man, old man."

"Oh look, Edward just asked what her favorite color is." I tried to steer the conversation back onto a safer topic.

"What did she answer?"

I smiled at Bella's excitement.

"Brown," I told her. "Turns our Brown is Edward's favorite too. This better not be some I'm-still-in-love-with-Bella thing."

"Please, I'm way off his radar."

"Whose favorite color is brown?" I asked before answering my own question, "no one's."

"You don't like my brown eyes?" Bella asked batting her eyelashes at me or some shit.

"They're just eyes, Bella, plus one day you'll have red eyes, so it hardly matters." I could feel her annoyance, but I ignored her.

"Do you really think we can look after a child?" Bella asked me, her fear shining through. Wasn't it a little late to be asking this now?

"I don't know. Maybe we should get a puppy, you know, like a trial run. That was a joke," I told her before she could hit me again. "You're sixteen, Bella, and I'm a vampire. This child will either have the best life, or it will have the worst. However, I can't help but think we've been given this opportunity for a reason. Monroe will be good, he has to be. There's been so much darkness in both of our lives, Monroe's got to be our good."

"I hope so," Bella agreed, hugging me to her tightly.

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><p><strong>AN- **Peter and Charlotte (and the Amazon Coven) will be back next chapter.

Review.


	55. Chapter 55

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing.

I did up a new picture, this one is of the Whitlock Hierarchy in their military jackets. Link is on my profile. I was lazy and didn't add the Whitlock crest to their jackets though. Also, I re-cast Peter and Charlotte because I didn't like them at all in Breaking Dawn. A little warning, but I made Peter as Paul Walker, so just be aware of that little fact due to recent events. I will remind you again at the end of the chapter.

I feel like I should mention that I do not have a beta reader and that when I hit the edit stage I usually rush it. So sorry if there's ever any mistakes ;)

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"You need to stop watching that," I told Bella as I came out of my study. Ever since yesterday she had been glued to the TV, watching the security camera footage of Bree and Edward. She was currently eating popcorn I believe. "You can't even hear what they're saying."

I stood in the doorway, just looking at her.

"So?" she replied, eyes never leaving the TV. "Something is up with them and I'm going to figure it out."

"Okay, Nancy Drew, what have you deduced so far?" I would humor her, for a minute.

"Nothing," she let out a sigh. "The longer I watch, the closer they get. Maybe nothing is wrong."

"Maybe," I agreed. "Anyway you need to get off the couch. Peter will be here shortly with the Amazon coven and I wish to meet them in our office, not here. I would also like for you to be there by my side, but if you'd prefer to stay on Edward and Bree watch then by all means go ahead."

"No," Bella quickly said, shutting off the TV. She jumped up from the couch in an instant. "Oh," she suddenly realized, "it's like a death trap, like reality TV. I got sucked into watching their crappy lives. Why didn't you stop me?" she asked as she marched over to me. Her accusatory tone was so cute. I didn't answer her. "I can't believe I wasted..." she paused.

"Nineteen hours," I happily supplied for her.

"I wasted nineteen hours of my life on them?" She was shocked and regretful. Ha. "I will never get that time back."

"No, you won't," I agreed. "Now go grab a shower and something to eat, meet me in our office."

"Is that your subtle way of telling me that I stink?" Bella asked me, bringing her shirt to her nose to sniff.

"Never," I replied with a smirk. "Now move that sweet ass. As soon as we have Zafrina on board we are one step closer to your dream."

"One step closer?" she questioned confused. "How many steps are there?"

I kissed her on the head before leaving her be. There would be as many steps as needed to make sure that we did this right.

I walked down the stairs to the second level, walking into the main room. Rose and Emmett were horizontal on the couch and they had a healthy audience. I stopped and face them, clearing my throat. They disentangled and looked at me confused.

"Do you not have a room yet?" I asked them.

"We have a room, a good room," Emmett replied proudly. "We just wanted an audience."

I closed my eyes momentarily. They wanted an audience?

"Need I remind you that Bree is only fifteen years old?" I asked them as I turned to face Bree who had been watching them intently.

"She's a vampire," Emmett replied. "She'll need to learn this stuff from somewhere."

"No one needs to see that shit," I told him forcefully. "If you want an audience of _willing_ vampires then you do it in your room, not out here. Understand?"

"Yes, Major," Emmett finally grumbled his agreement.

"Bree," I turned my attention to her. "Are you okay?" I gauged her emotions, she just seemed overly curious.

"Yes," she answered shyly.

Good.

"If this happens again, with anyone, you will be punished. This room in particular is a room for everyone to relax and enjoy each other's company. Please keep it G rated."

I continued to my office and just before the door closed behind me I heard Emmett speak.

"What the fuck is up his ass?"

I decided to ignore him. I had more important things to worry about.

"Garrett," I said through the intercom. "When Peter gets here I want you in my office."

I busied myself with the laws. We had gotten most of them nailed down, but every now and then a new issue presented itself and we had to add new ones. It was ever changing, but that was good, as one day it would be perfect and hopefully foolproof.

Bella finally made her way into our office and sat down next to me.

"I was thinking," I told her as I faced her. "I think we should get Charlie and his new family moved in sooner rather than later."

"His new family?" Bella questioned me with a smirk. "Are you purposefully saying all the wrong things today?"

I ignored her, again. My terminology didn't matter.

"I feel that with them being here during the pregnancy they will be more of a distraction. The Cullen's will be leaving soon, so we add a werewolf and her human family in the mix and it will create a good distraction."

"Again?" Bella questioned me, her anger rising slightly, but she was still calm. "A werewolf and her human family? You do know that Charlie is still my dad and I'm still his daughter?"

"Yes, I know this. Please, Bella, I've just got a lot on my mind. I've never met Zafrina, but we know of each other. I just want this to work out, so I apologize if I keep on being insensitive. I don't have time to analyze what I say before I say it." She thankfully let it drop.

Garrett suddenly appeared in our office and I breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that Peter was back, good. The sooner we got this talk over and done with, the better. Moments later Peter and Charlotte entered with the Amazon coven.

"Welcome," I told them, standing up. Bella followed my lead. "I am Major Jasper Whitlock and this is my mate Isabella Swan Whitlock."

"It's nice to meet you," Bella told them kindly.

"I'm Kachiri, and these are my friends and sisters, Senna and Zafrina."

"Do we have to drink animal blood whist we're here?" Senna asked innocently, but unfortunately for her I snapped.

"Maggie," I shouted through the intercom. "Make up a fucking sign and place it in the entrance. Make it read, _your diet, your choice_, or some shit like that." I disconnected the intercom and not a second later Bella had me shielded.

"What?" I barked at her.

"Calm down," she told me and I could feel her calm. She placed her hand on my cheek, trying to soothe me. "Whatever happens we will find a way. Even if we have to leave everyone behind and go hide in a cave. We will have Monroe in our lives no matter what. Okay?"

"You promise?" I asked her desperately.

"With my whole heart."

I could feel her truth. We could do this, I could do this. I took a couple of deep breaths before sitting down. Bella sat down too and pulled her shield back.

"I apologize," I told them calmly. "It's just more stressful being in power than I imagined. Firstly, you are all welcome to stay here if you choose. You will have no responsibilities and will get your own room. You will also be able to hunt humans up North in Calgary, you just need to be discreet about it. As you're aware, everyone in this room knows about Nahuel and his, well existence, we do not wish for anyone else to know. Nahuel will live in peace with his family unless he decides otherwise. That being said, no one speaks of him again, unless I ask. Understand?"

They all agreed. Good.

"Kachiri and Senna, Charlotte will take you to the main room and introduce you to everybody, show you around, all that. Zafrina, I wish to have a word with you if that's okay?"

She nodded her head and after reassuring her sisters that she was fine, they left the room with Charlotte.

"Please have a seat," I told her and she awkwardly sat down.

"Zafrina, it is good to finally meet you," I told her with a smile.

"And you, Major."

"How have things been going in the South?" I asked her.

"Good. Ever since you pulled Maria and her army's focus back up North we have had no issues."

"That's good. Now let's get down to it. To put it bluntly, I am in need of your gift." She nodded her head. She was a smart woman, she probably already knew this. "Now what I'm about to say does not leave this room. The only vampires that know are completely trusted, so if this information gets out I will have no option, but to punish you. Do you still wish to know?"

"Yes," she answered. I could feel her fear, but also her respect.

"My mate, Isabella, can have prophetic dreams of the future. We have seen a new addition to our family, a hybrid, a son named Monroe. That is why we sought out Nahuel, we needed all the details before pressing forward. We have discussed everything at length and we have decided to go ahead and try, but we need your help." I could feel her curiosity and confusion. "We are in a position of power and the existence of hybrids is not something we wish to make common knowledge. This is where you come in, if you are willing. Remember you can always say no and leave at anytime, as long as you keep all this a secret." She nodded her head in understanding. "Bella will be out of commission for at least a month, maybe longer. She will be obviously pregnant and we need to keep this hidden. Our room is already completely sound proofed, so Bella will have no problems hiding away in there, but I need your gift to convince everyone, every now and then, that Bella is strong, healthy and by my side. What do you think?"

"I've known Nahuel for a long time," Zafrina spoke up. "I don't know if this is just unique to him, but he's one of a kind. I only ever see good in him, never any bad. I respect you, Major, always have. You helped me out once, even though we never met, and I've never forgotten that. I will help you, I will create the illusion, but it's up to you whether or not everyone else believes it."

"Thank you, Zafrina. If this works out I will owe you one."

"No, we will be even," she told me forcefully.

"No," I replied just as forcefully. "I will owe you one, and you and your sisters will always have asylum with us."

"Thank you, Major," Zafrina nodded to me before standing up. We held a mutual respect for each other and that was always a good thing. "I will observe Isabella in the days to come and when I can effectively create a believable illusion of her I will let you know."

Good. She left the office and I turned my attention to Garrett.

"Garrett, I need you and Rose to go to Calgary, Boise, Spokane and anywhere else that is close. I will need you to get a big freezer for our room. I will also need you to hit the hospitals and blood banks, as well as the butchers. We will need to stock up on as much human and animal blood as we can. Food too, but I will send someone else for that. Head out now and please be discreet, no one here will know what you're up to, not even Kate. Rose will question you, but do not tell her the reasons, she will be informed by Bella and I soon enough."

"Yes, sir," he agreed without complaint before leaving.

"Animal blood?" Bella asked me confused and I could feel her disgust.

"It's for me," I told her. "I will not leave you alone just to go and hunt. The butchers will have plenty of animal blood, so it's not an issue."

I pressed the button on the intercom, "Charlotte, our office please, now."

She joined us and I motioned for her and Peter to sit, they did.

"First, I want to apologize," I told them. They went to speak, but I raised my hand to silence them. "I snapped, plain and simple. I wanted to avenge Maria, I wanted to kill you. I don't regret that, I only regret that I wasn't strong enough to snap out of it on my own. I can promise you that it will never happen again. You know just how much I admire the two of you. You were my first family and you always will be. We all know I was a dick, but I hope we can move past this."

"You are a fucker," Peter told me, smiling widely. "I've always been on your side, you know this. Everything I've done lately has been for you and your mate, and I will continue to help you in any way that I can, brother."

I turned my attention to Charlotte.

"I was terrified of you, Jasper," she spoke honestly and I nodded my head sadly. "It reminded me of the war, specifically of the day you were ordered to kill me. You gave me life that day and I haven't wasted it. Yes, you made a mistake. You allowed Maria to control you once more, but you never hurt us, you never caught us. I think we all know that you could have, but you didn't. I've always been terrified of you and I don't think that will ever change, but you are my family and I forgive you."

"Thank you," I told her honestly before turning my attention to both of them. "I don't deserve you."

"Maybe we're the ones who don't deserve you," Bella whispered quietly and I wanted to scoff, but she really meant what she said. I would always have issues of self doubt and worth. I didn't think I was any good, only good for death and destruction. But Bella really believed it. She saw my worth, she saw the good in me when I didn't even see it in myself. I was beyond lucky to have her, lucky to have all of them.

I decided not to address her remark and stayed silent.

"Excuse us," Bella told Peter and Charlotte. "You must be tired after your trip to South America and Jasper and I need to make a baby."

Charlotte giggled at that. I just smirked. Bella wasn't denying me anymore, this was good news.

Peter and Charlotte left the room and we quickly followed. We didn't get far before Rose was on top of us.

"Why am I going on a trip?" she questioned Bella and I. "And without Emmett?"

Bella brought her into her shield and I read their conversation.

"Do you trust me?" Bella asked her and Rose nodded her head. "I will tell you everything soon, as soon as you come back, I promise. In the meantime go with Garrett and help him. This is a very important and sensitive issue. Okay?"

"Okay," Rose grudgingly accepted, "but this better be worth my time."

"More than you could ever imagine," Bella told her, smiling happily. Rose caught her happiness it seemed because she smiled back at Bella just as wide.

"Okay, stay safe, Bella, and remember not to take any of his shit."

Bella nodded and unshielded them.

"That is freaky," Senna said as she stood in the corner watching us. "But it is cool."

I always wondered what Bella's shield looked like to people who didn't know she possessed one, but then again Charlie seemed to pick up on it and he was only human. Charlie. There was one more thing we needed to do before we could begin making this baby. Bella needed to call Charlie and get him ready to move, the sooner the better.

I started making my way out of the main room and Bella followed me. As soon as we were in our room I handed her my cell phone and prompted her to call Charlie. I could feel her disappointment, but I reassured her that as soon as she was done we'd get to it. She huffed, but dialed his number. I listened to her conversation as I ran a hot bath for Bella, thankful that the tub was big enough for the both of us to fit in it.

"Jasper, hi," Charlie said happily. "How's Montana?"

"Dad, it's me."

"What, did you lose your phone?" Charlie let out a laugh.

"No, just using Jasper's. Look I'm calling for a very important reason."

"Okay, shoot." Charlie let out another laugh, he definitely seemed like he was in a good mood. I swear I could feel his happiness from here, but that was impossible.

"I, umm, will be sick soon," Bella weakly explained. I grabbed some kind of bubble solution and put some in the water.

"Sick? Is this because of the venom you ingested?"

"No, a different kind of sickness. It's serious, but good."

"Bells, you're making no sense. Explain this to me."

"I'll need you here, dad. Do you think you'll be able to make the move to Montana soon?" Bella's voice was soft.

"Bells, what's going on? You can tell me. Did something happen with Jasper, because although he's a vampire and a major tough guy I'll find a way to kill him."

Bella let out a laugh. "Not necessary, dad, but good to know. I have no doubt you would make the change into a vampire just to protect me from harm, but it's not necessary."

"So it has nothing to do with the kid?"

I turned my attention back to the bath. It seemed like I put in too much solution, there were bubbles everywhere. I quickly turned off the tap. I managed to avoid the ever growing bubbles and left the room, closing the door behind me. Out of mind, out of sight. Plus, my mate needed me now. I grabbed the phone off Bella and put it on speaker.

"Charlie, it's Jasper. Are you alone right now?"

"Well, no, I'm at the station."

"Let me rephrase that. Is there any supernatural beings around you right now?" This was a conversation that didn't need to be overheard.

"No, only humans. Why? What's going on?"

"Bella's going to have a child," I said bluntly.

"Jasper," Bella hissed, hitting my chest before making a small noise in pain. I grabbed her hand and held it tightly in my own, cooling down her already bruising skin.

"Nice one, Jasper," Charlie let out a laugh.

"I'm not joking," I told him seriously and he stopped laughing.

"Bella?" he questioned.

"It's true, Dad. I'm not pregnant yet, but it's going to happen."

"So you need me in Montana to babysit?" Charlie was so confused, probably figuring out that he was going to be a Grandpa.

"No, Dad. We need you in Montana for support and distraction. No one can know of this child. Only a select few who Jasper and I trust fully."

"Why are you even having a kid if you can't tell anyone about it?"

"Dad," Bella let out a sigh. "His name is Monroe. It's going to be a boy."

Ah, the Monroe trick, I knew that trick well. Bella was making the baby seem more real to Charlie.

"His name is Monroe?" Charlie questioned confused. "Bella, you're still a kid, my kid. You're only sixteen, surely you don't need to do this right now. You have time."

"Dad, it takes seven years for a vampire/human baby to grow fully. They actually grow around eleven years in the first year alone. It's unconventional, my whole life is actually, but it's what I want, it's what we want."

"Bella-" Charlie began, but Bella cut him off.

"Dad, please."

"Just one thing," he promised her, "and if you're still gung ho after hearing this then nothing I say will change your mind. Bella, you do realize that you will be a seventeen year old with an eleven year old child."

Shit, he was right. I never thought of that. I didn't know if the advance speed of growth would include the brain as well. Would eleven year old Monroe have the IQ of an average eleven year old, or would he be smarter, maybe not as smart. There was so much we didn't know.

"Yeah, and if I don't get changed into a vampire the kid will be seventeen when I'm twenty-three, but with the venom I ingested nothing is certain. I'm dying, Dad, we all know this. There is no time to waste. I want Monroe in my life and I don't care that I'm only sixteen. I think we can all agree that I am more mature than my sixteen years of age, but truthfully I am a ruler of the vampire world, so who really cares. It's not important."

"Okay, kid," Charlie finally agreed. "I will speak to Sue about the move and get back to you. I will have to put my notice in at the station so it will be at least two weeks if not longer. If you need me, just call and I will be there. Okay?"

"Okay, Dad. I'll let you get back to work and I'll see you soon." Bella disconnected the call and turned her attention to me. "Thank you," she told me, bringing me into a hug.

"Of course." I hugged her back just a tightly. "I ran a bath for you, well, for us."

"Really?" I could feel her excitement and happiness. She walked over to the bathroom door and opened it up wide. When she did I noticed that the bubbles had grown even more. "Oh, Jasper," she said playfully as she walked into the room, kicking at the bubbles. "What happened?"

"I may have used too much bubble solution," I told her sheepishly and she laughed. "How was I supposed to know?" I questioned her, but her laughter just increased. This annoyed me, so in an instant I had her clothes and my own ripped to shreds on the bathroom floor and we were both settled in the hot water of the bath. She let out a hiss, but I quickly cooled her down.

I could feel her love surrounding me and I drew it in, just imagining how much it would grow once we had Monroe in our lives. I turned her around and brought her flush against my chest, kissing her roughly, showing her my love.

_Fade to black._

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><p><strong>AN- **Haha, yeah, I did a fade to black, but I did it for a reason, I promise. Don't forget to look at the Whitlock hierarchy photo.

Review.


	56. Chapter 56

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing guys, you're so awesome.

I like this chapter.

Also, just FYI, but I've only read Breaking Dawn once and I can assure you all now that the pregnancy and birth, and child, etc, will be way different than what happened in the books.

The end is rated M, it's been page break'd off.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Bella," I said, sticking my head in the bathroom. "That's the fifth pregnancy test you've taken and I'm pretty sure they won't tell you if you're actually carrying a hybrid baby."

"Jasper, I know this," she snapped at me. "It's been a week, we've officially been trying to conceive Monroe for a week and nothing."

"Maybe he's already in there," I frowned. I had no idea how these things went.

"No, because the vision keeps on fading. If he was here I would know. I would be able to feel him, the vision would stick." Her voice was rising with every single word and I wisely decided to stay by the door. "Why won't it happen? That day in the forest, if I hadn't have stopped us, I would already be with child, but now that we want it to happen, it won't. Why is life so unfair?"

"Maybe you need to give it some time, Bella," I spoke softly, quietly. Truthfully I was just as frustrated as her, but I was trying not to show her this.

"Maybe the baby's not yours," she spat at me. What? That made no sense. Great, now she was delusional. "Maybe your sperm venom is infertile."

"Bella, you had a dream about _our _baby. It was ours, as in, both of us. Maybe we're trying too hard." I had a theory as to why we hadn't conceived Monroe yet, but I was too afraid to voice it. Bella was acting irrational and I really didn't want to piss her off more. Maybe I could get Peter to mention it to her.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Bella asked me in disbelief. "Get over here and put a baby in me."

Oh, no, this was not going to work.

"Bella," I spoke softly, gently, trying desperately to keep my voice low. "Have you considered that your shield is still in place?"

She looked at me, just looked at me, and then she began glaring at me. Oh no. I took a step back and then another. I needed to retreat, but with every step I took backwards, Bella took two steps forward, until she had backed me up against the wall.

"What did you say?" she asked me.

Are we sure she wasn't pregnant? Because these mood swings were giving me whiplash.

"Nothing, I said nothing." I tried to fix it, but it was clearly too late for that.

"There's a problem and you automatically blame me?"

Thankfully my phone beeped and I pulled it out of my pocket.

"The Cullen's are leaving," I told Bella as I carefully slipped away from her. "We should go and say goodbye." I walked straight to the door. I needed a breather before I gave in to my own frustrations.

"So typical," I heard Bella mutter behind me, but I was not stopping.

I made it to the main room and everyone was there except for Carlisle.

"Where's Carlisle?" I asked.

"Talking with Alistair," Edward answered nodding towards the courtyard.

Alistair had been nonexistent since he joined us. I knew he liked his solitude, but for some reason him and Carlisle seemed to get along. Maybe if Carlisle ever made the move to join us in Montana Alistair would become more of a part our group.

Bella finally left our room and I could feel her emotions. She was still on the edge and ready to snap at an instant. I needed to keep my mouth shut. She made it to the main room and everyone looked at her.

"Okay," Rose spoke with determination. "Now I know I really do need to hit him. What happened, Bella?"

"Nothing," Bella shook her off with a fake smile. "Nothing happened and you do not need to hit him."

"Oh, Bella, dear," Esme said stepping forward. "I'm going to miss you."

"Me too," Edward agreed and I rolled my eyes. Get over it Edward.

"I'm going back too," Alice said as she stood in front of me, "but I'll be coming back with Charlie and Leah's family to stay for good."

That was good news. I sent Alice my happiness.

Carlisle walked into the room and came over to us. I could feel his pride immediately, great.

"Jasper, Bella," he started. "I'm so proud of both of you. You've both come so far since you met. Every obstacle that's come onto your path you've passed it together. And even now you're excelling at ruling because you're both together. I hope one day that we will join you, but for now we will be heading back to Forks."

"Thank you, Carlisle," Bella told him, bringing him into a hug before hugging Esme.

I sent him my gratitude and he smiled back at me.

"Umm, Jasper?" Bree asked quietly. "Have you decided yet?" Decided on what? I sent her my confusion. "Am I trained enough to go home with Edward or do I have to stay here with you?"

Right. I had talked to Maggie a couple of days ago and she had told me that their distrust wasn't an issue. She even mentioned that it had seemed to lessen. I would let her go. Edward needed to be the one to teach her these things and with Carlisle being there that would help greatly.

"You can go home," I told her and I felt her excitement and happiness. Next thing I know she was hugging me.

I could feel everyone else's panic and Edward's fear. It was true that the Cullen's knew I didn't particularly like to be touched, let alone hugged, but it was only Bree.

"Thank you so much, Jasper," she told me, still holding me tightly.

I didn't hug her back. I just stood there, stock still, waiting for her to let go. When she didn't I sent her my annoyance and she finally stepped away from me and went to stand next to her mate.

"It's been good to have you all here," I told them honestly, "and thank you for finishing off the rest of the house, it looks great."

We said our final goodbyes and watched on as Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Bree and Alice left the house. Once they were out of earshot I breathed a sigh of relief. I headed back to the main room to address Zafrina. Bella followed me and brought me into her shield. Great, round two. I purposefully bit my tongue, I would not bait her.

"I'm telling Rose," she told me simply.

She was telling Rose about Monroe? Was this a good thing? I thought it through and I decided it was. Bella needed a girl to talk to, and don't girls usually work shit out when they're together? Either way it meant more time for Bella to cool off and hopefully this would be beneficial.

"Go ahead," I told her. She pulled the shield back and I turned my attention to Zafrina. I needed to know if she had gotten a good enough image of Bella yet or if she needed more time. Not that Bella had waited for her to be ready at all. "Zafrina, a word in my office please."

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><p><strong>BPOV<strong>

Finally. Finally Jasper was allowing me to talk to Rose. I knew I was being a bitch to him, but I couldn't help it. I just wanted to be pregnant already. It was stupid, but just when we knew that we both wanted it, it didn't happen. To make matters worse, I knew Jasper was on edge as well, but that stupid fucker was better at dealing with it than me. I guess being an empath for most of his life came in handy at times like these.

I watched as Zafrina followed Jasper into his office and I turned my attention to Rose. I didn't speak. I just caught her eyes and gave a nod of my head to indicate that she should follow me. She did. I walked back to the privacy of our room, unlocking it and holding the door open for Rose. She followed me inside and I shut the door behind me.

"Are you finally going to tell me why you need all that blood?" Rose asked as she looked at the huge freezer we had fully stocked with both human and animal blood in the corner of the kitchen. "Are you making the change? Is Jasper upset about this?"

"No, Rose, that's not it. Let's sit on the couch."

I walked into the living room/bedroom and sat down on the couch. Rose sat down next to me. She was looking at me expectantly, confused, and slightly scared. I knew she was most likely going to be fine with this, but how was I going to tell her. Rose had told me her story before and I knew that above all else she wanted children.

"Rose," I started, but stopped.

"Bella?" she questioned and I could hear the fear in her voice. "Just tell me, Bella."

"Jasper and I," I took a deep breath, "we're going to have a baby."

"What?" Rose's face went blank.

"Apparently it's possible, but risky. A male vampire can impregnate a human female and it results in a half human-half vampire baby." Rose stayed silent. "Rose?"

"Why?" is all she answered.

"I don't know," I answered honestly. "But his name is Monroe and he has brown curly hair and blue eyes. I saw him in a dream and he's so beautiful, Rose, so pure."

"Are you pregnant now?" she asked.

"No."

"Then why?" she asked me again before continuing on. "Why would you want this?" What? I thought Rose would be on board with this. "You're willing to bring a child into this world? Why Bella? Even without being in power this would be risky, but to do this now... Are you stupid?" What? "This pure and innocent child doesn't get a choice. He is just born into this world. You know that I always wish I had a choice, this child won't even get that. He will be doomed."

"You may be right," I told her. "Maybe being born into this life will doom him, but it doesn't matter. I was brought into this life by a sadistic vampire. My death warrant has been signed, sealed and delivered. You saw me when I first came into your family. I _was_ doomed, but look at me now. We make our own futures, Rose. There is a chance that Monroe will cause everyone's demise, but I simply don't care. It's risk versus reward and the idea of having my own child with my mate is just too great of an opportunity to pass up. Believe me when I say that Jasper and I have thought this through fully. We know the challenges we will be facing, the risks, but we're willing to take them on. I told you because I want you by my side during all this. Jasper and I have decided that we want you and Emmett to be Monroe's godparents if anything was ever to happen to us. If ever there was a reason it became unsafe for him here. We chose you because we knew you would run with him and you would protect him with your life."

I looked at Rose and she was speechless.

"You made me a godparent?" she asked.

"There was no contest. You are Emmett have so much love for each other. You are yin and yang, and I know that if it ever came down to it there would be no one else I would want Monroe to be with. You are so strong, Rose, compassionate even. I know you. You put up a mask, you show everyone you're hard, but it's only because you're scared. You're afraid, always thinking of everything that you've lost, but now, you need to start thinking of all the things that you've gained."

She was silent for a while, just thinking things through.

"Okay," she finally accepted with a smile. "I will help you, Bella, and I will be his godparent, protecting him with my life if need be."

"Thank you, Rose," I brought her into a hug and I was surprised when she didn't pull back. I relaxed into her. I don't know how long we stayed like this, but after a while I pulled back.

"So, why aren't you pregnant yet?" Rose asked me after a beat. "You sound like you want Monroe, yet?"

"I think Jasper's right." I let out a sigh.

"What?" Rose asked me confused.

"We've been trying for a week and nothing. Jasper mentioned before that he thought I might still have my shield in place. I think he's right."

"Why do you think that is?" Rose asked. "I thought you wanted Monroe."

"I do. I really do, but I guess I'm afraid. This isn't going to be easy. The last person to do this ended up dead. What if Monroe kills me? What if Jasper can't save me in time? I know this may sound selfish, but I love Jasper. I love him so much and I would rather be in this world with him, than to die giving birth. I don't want to lose him."

"You said you had a dream about this? About Monroe? Do you see yourself in his future?" Rose asked me.

"Yes," I answered automatically. "We're all there and we're happy."

"Well then that's your answer. Are you a vampire?"

"Sometimes, it changes."

"Then see, you have nothing to worry about. You clearly survive." I guess she was right. I think I knew this deep down, but I was still afraid. To have an outsider spell things out seemed to be working. "Now," Rose smirked at me, "you need to seduce your mate and I've got the perfect outfit to do that."

I didn't have time to protest because she used her vampire speed to leave the room. I didn't need an outfit, I was sure I could seduce my mate all on my own. She was back just as quick, holding some kind of flimsy material in her hands. She seemed to have two different options.

"Now I don't know anything about yours and Jasper's sex life because you wouldn't tell us," Rose began, "but do you like it rough?"

I blushed and shrugged my shoulders.

"Good," Rose smirked, tossing away the black items. "Then this is the one for you."

She held up a white negligee that was completely see through.

"Where's the rest?" I stupidly asked her and she shook her head at me.

"There is no more, Bella, and you don't wear any underwear underneath, understand?" I didn't reply. "Do you need me to help dress you?" she asked, fully knowing my answer.

"No, I think I'll be right."

"Here." She threw the item at me. "Get dressed quickly and I'll get Jasper. As soon as he sees you in virginal white he's going to lose if. I do hope he has enough restraint not to kill you."

I let out a gulp. Now she tells me this. I knew Jasper would never hurt me, but I couldn't help thinking about it.

She picked up the black items before leaving me be. I jumped up quickly and made my way into the bathroom. I wanted to be fully dressed before Jasper came up. I stripped off all my clothes and pulled the negligee on. It was very white, but it seemed to go well with my creamy skin. I fluffed my hair a little, trying to give it a little volume. I looked in the full length mirror and a beautiful woman stared back at me. Rose was right, I was so screwed. Jasper would instantly go crazy no doubt and he would claim me.

I walked out of the bathroom and over to the bed. Where was I supposed to stand, or sit, or lay? Where would I look the most desirable? I had no idea. I knew that I didn't want to look like an idiot, nor did I want to look like I was posing for him. Why was this so hard? I needed to decide and I needed to decide quickly. I had a thought. We had both been dominant before, but I had a feeling that if I gave myself over to him fully, that it would help in lowering any shields I still had in place. My subconscious definitely had control over them it seemed.

So I kneeled on the soft carpet in front of the bed. Placing my hands, palm upwards, on my thighs. I lowered my head to look at my hands and I just waited for my mate. As I waited I focused on letting everything go and opening myself up more than I had done before. In the forest it was so primal, I never had a chance to think and therefore my shields were dropped. My brain had betrayed me this week. I was afraid and therefore my shield was still unknowingly in place. I vowed that this time I would be open fully for my mate and there would be nothing in between us.

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><p>The door finally opened and I held my breath, just listening to my mate. He seemed to be muttering about something, but then it stopped. I could feel his gaze on me, it was so intense, but I didn't dare look up. I heard the noise of clothes being ripped and a boot hitting the wall. Then he was in front of me. I could see his bare feet, but he was still wearing jeans. I was thankful for that. He knew I liked us to be at the same state of undress when we were intimate. It seemed more fair.<p>

Jasper reached down and pulled me up. I could feel him looking me over, a small growl coming from him. I was still looking down. "Look at me," he growled and I did as he said. I looked up into his black eyes and they were burning with lust. "So fucking beautiful," he muttered before forcefully claiming my mouth.

He picked me up and I wrapped my legs around his back, never breaking the kiss. He bent his knees before launching us up and over the end of the bed. We landed on the bed and I heard a creak. I was suddenly thankful that our bed was made of metal and not wood, otherwise it surely would have broken. Jasper moved me up a little further, finally pulling his mouth away from mine, allowing me to breath. I greedily sucked in the air, filling up my lungs, as he kissed my neck instead.

He wasted no time. His hand ventured lower and he began rubbing my folds. My hips grinded against him automatically and I let out a moan. I loved my mate so fucking much. He definitely knew what he was doing. He didn't spend much time down there. I could feel that I was already dripping with wetness. I was more than ready. I looked down as he unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans. He pulled himself out and he didn't even bother to rid himself of his jeans. He just lined himself up and drove home.

I let out a hiss. Ah, he felt so fucking good. We fit together perfectly. He stretched me just enough for it to hurt a little and it was the best feeling. He paused for a second, just enough for me to get used to him inside me before he started thrusting. With every thrust he hit my cervix and the pain was delicious. I could see him staring at my thinly covered breasts, my nipples were standing up proudly. He let out another growl. He picked up his pace, thrusting harder. It was beginning to feel more painful than pleasurable, so I grabbed his hand in my own and slice his chest open.

His venom began running freely and I lifted my head to lick it all up. The venom still stung, my body still seemed to know that I shouldn't be consuming it, but I didn't care. He was my mate and until I was a vampire this was the only way I could mark him and taste him. It would have to do. I attached my mouth and sucked hard. He let out a grunt and pushed in harder. I could feel he was close, so I pushed my love and lust out to him. This seemed to work because he pushed in hard, letting out a primal roar. I could feel him filling me with his venom and I committed the moment to memory. This was more than just sex and making love, this was so much more. We were creating life.

It felt different this time. I sucked harder, drawing in his venom as he continued to pump into me. He was at the height of his orgasm and he dropped his head, biting me over my right nipple hard. He began drinking my blood and it sent me over the edge. My mouth disconnected from his chest and I let out a scream of my own, equally as loud. I loved this man so fucking much. He kept on pulling my blood and it felt so good.

His movements began to slow and he eventually stopped. He took one last pull of blood before pulling back. I looked down at my breast and noticed he had bitten through the material of the negligee. The whiteness was now covered in blood. It looked beautiful. I noticed Jasper didn't close my wound with his venom and I was thankful, this was one scar I didn't mind carrying with me always. One simple bite mark on my breast would serve as a good reminder of this day. Of how we gave ourselves to each other completely and for everything we gained.

The moment was simply perfect and my mate seemed to agree because he began purring and nuzzling my neck. I loved him so much and him me. I could only imagine just how much our love would grow with a new addition to our family. Life was finally perfect and I was so happy. I ran my fingers through Jasper's wild curls before placing a kiss on top of his head, sending him my love. I could still feel his venom in me and he hadn't pulled out yet. It blew my mind to think that we had just made a baby, but I wouldn't change anything about it.

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><p><strong>AN- **See, I faded to black last time for a reason, haha. Monroe has just been conceived readers.

Review.


	57. Chapter 57

**A/N- **Thank you so much for continuing to review.

Sorry for the wait, I'm sick again.

Enjoy pregnant Bella.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"I'm so fat," Bella whined and I was so glad that I was in my study. Rose was currently on Bella duty so I'd let her field that remark.

"Bella," Rose let out a sigh, "you're a week pregnant. You're only going to get fatter."

"Maybe I didn't think this through fully," Bella spoke. "I mean, if I survive, then what? I'm going to have to lose all that baby weight."

"Maybe it's different for hybrid pregnancies," Rose countered.

Thankfully Charlotte entered our room and I no longer had to listen to that particular conversation.

"Time for some more blood, Bella."

I had put Charlotte and Peter on blood duty. As soon as we knew that Bella was pregnant we had began giving her human blood to drink. We knew that Monroe needed it and we wanted to keep him healthy and strong. In the beginning Bella hated the taste and the smell, but as Monroe grew she was enjoying it more and more. We had tried doing ultrasounds and x-rays to see how Monroe was progressing, but Monroe's placenta seemed to be impenetrable. As the pregnancy progressed we were faced with more and more unknowns, but so far we were dealing with them well.

"Let's do some online baby shopping," Charlotte suggested the second that Bella had finished her blood.

"Yes," Rose agreed excitedly.

That was my cue. I did not need to witness them shopping. Bella hated shopping, it was slightly better because she was not shopping for herself, but I didn't need to hear the pros and cons of different brands of breast pumps again. I mean, I assumed she was just going to breast feed the kid, whether it be milk, her blood, or both, but I've since learned to keep my mouth shut. I walked out of my office and walked over to her. I didn't hesitate as I bent down and kissed her, licking the remains of human blood from her mouth. She knew what I was doing, but she didn't say anything.

"Be good for Bella," I told Monroe as I bent down and kissed Bella's baby bump. He wasn't feeling emotions yet, but I knew it would be very soon. He was growing so fast.

"I'm going to check in with the others," I informed Bella as I stepped back from her. "I need to let them see you at my side again. Have fun shopping." I smiled at her before leaving the room. I didn't care what they bought, or how much they spent, as long as I didn't have to be involved.

I sent Zafrina a message once I left my room and she was in my sights immediately. I nodded my head and in an instant illusion Bella was by my side. We had discussed this matter at length and only came up with one viable solution. We had told everyone that Bella was sick and until she got better she would be recuperating in our room. But every now and then I made a point of using Zafrina's power and having Bella by my side so that the others could see that she was not dying or making the change into a vampire. It helped calm them and it strengthened their bond to my mate. The illusion had not failed us yet, but that was because we were being very careful and tactful, limiting their exposure to illusion Bella.

I walked into the main room, illusion Bella by my side. I sat down on an arm chair and illusion Bella sat in my lap. We had worked hard with Zafrina to nail down certain poses to make it as real as possible.

"Bella," Emmett spoke excitedly. "I hope Rose is looking after you?"

Bella nodded her head yes.

"Still can't talk?" Emmett asked sadly.

Bella's hand reached up to her throat and she shook her head no. The other vampires came into the room. They liked to show their support for Bella during her sickness.

Peter and Garrett stood on opposite sides of the room, just to be safe. Garrett was by Zafrina making sure nothing happened to interrupt her from the illusion she was creating. Kate was sitting next to Emmett, they had been playing the Xbox it seemed. Randall and Mary were by the window, just observing everything. Kachiri and Senna were out, I had noted that they didn't seem to like hanging around the house, they were like Alistair in that aspect. Maggie was nearby, I have a feeling she could feel the distrust. I think she knew something wasn't right. I would have to talk to her soon, but for now I needed to distract them all.

"There is something I need to talk to you all about and it's somewhat sensitive." I waited until everyone's attention was on me. "Isabella's father Charlie and his family will be coming soon. He wants to be here with her to help her get better. Charlie is human and is to be held in as high a regard as Isabella is. Now here's where it becomes tricky. Charlie's step-daughter Leah is Alice's mate. That's not the tricky part, Leah is a shape shifter, a wolf."

That got their attention, but they were smart enough not to speak out of turn.

"I understand if this makes any of you feel uncomfortable, but Leah will be here to stay, so if you have a problem you will have to leave. I will not put Isabella's family out. Leah is not harmful, she only smells bad, but ever since she has mated with Alice her scent has gotten better. Any issues should be voiced as soon as they are thought."

Illusion Bella coughed and I stood up.

"Garrett," I spoke, "please escort Bella back to our room." As he approached us I turned my attention to illusion Bella. "Go and rest, my mate, we need you to get better. I will be by your side when I have finished some business that needs to be attended to." I bent forward and barely grazed my lips against Bella's forehead.

Garrett stood by her side and I watched as they left the room, Zafrina discreetly following them. Once Garrett was safely back I turned my attention to the others.

"I know life is somewhat boring at the moment," I addressed them all, "but we should be thankful for this. With Isabella being sick we are distracted, I am distracted, but she will get better with time." I could feel their worry lessen, all except Maggie's. "Maggie, a word please."

I walked towards my office and held the door open for her. Once she entered I shut the door behind her and motioned for her to take a seat. I sat down behind my desk and waited for her to speak.

"Is Isabella really okay?" she asked me and I could feel her fear.

"Speak freely," I told her. "I am aware that I can't fool you."

"What's wrong with Isabella? Is she making the change to vampire?"

"No, she is still human."

"Why create the illusion then? Is she dying? Do you not want to worry everyone?" she really did seem concerned.

I didn't trust her fully yet for the truth, but I could give her something. I had to otherwise she would never trust me again.

"Isabella is indisposed at the moment. She is not dying or making the change, but she is sick of sorts. It's a sensitive topic and it cannot come out. I would tell you, but it is only something I have trusted to those I have known for years. Telling you would not only be a risk to Isabella, but to me as well and I cannot have that. I know this is not the answer you wanted or deserve, but it is all I can give you for now. Once the threat settles down I will no doubt explain everything, but for the time being I cannot."

She paused for a while, clearly seeing everything I said was true.

"I understand," she spoke. "Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me what you could. I will not reveal your secret." She stood to leave, but stopped. "I know you said Bella wasn't sick, but please give her my well wishes anyway."

"Of course, Maggie, you are becoming a trusted member of the guard. You are honest and you have strong morals. I think you're going to fit in great here."

"Thank you, Jasper," she spoke, using my proper name. I could instantly feel her fear. I would allow it. When she realized I wasn't going to correct her, she hurried out of the room.

I turned my attention to what little work I had to do. I wanted to give the girls a chance to finish their shopping before I made my way back to our room. Plus the more the others saw me away from my mate, the more they would realize that Bella's sickness wasn't that serious. I buried myself for as long as I was able, a few hours at most, before leaving my office. The other vampires has disappeared, except Emmett who was still playing the Xbox. I managed to pass him without him realizing.

I walked into our room and they were still shopping. _Great_.

"I'm tired," Bella said as soon as she saw me. "Maybe you and Char can make a run to pick up some of the stuff we ordered."

My mate was so smart. Rose and Char's excitement grew and they rushed right by me. The door closed behind them and I turned my attention to Bella.

"Blood?" I questioned her and she shyly nodded her head.

I went over to the freezer and grabbed out a packet of human blood and a container of animal blood. I put them into separate containers and nuked them in the microwave making them nice and warm. I grabbed them out, stirring the blood, making sure the temperature was warm all throughout. I didn't want Bella to get burned. Once it was perfect I grabbed the blood and poured it into two large jugs, walking over to Bella. I sat down next to her on the couch and handed her the human blood. I brought the animal blood up to my lips and let the warm liquid run down my throat until it was all gone. Bella seemed to take her time with hers.

"Bella?" I questioned, sitting my empty jug on the coffee table. "When Monroe's born will he be drinking human blood or animal blood?" I needed to know. I would rather he drank animal blood, but I didn't know how Bella felt about the matter.

"I don't know," she answered honestly, still sipping her blood. "I think we should give him human blood until he is able to make a decision for himself. Maybe after a year."

A year?

"Bella, a year is a long time. I don't think Monroe will be able to switch after being on a human only blood diet for a year. We could give him half and half?"

"I don't think that's wise," Bella told me. "He's our son, Jasper, if he wants to make the change he will. We will guide him. You lived off human blood for your first century, but look at you now. I can understand your concerns, but I want Monroe to have the best start in life and that means he should get human blood."

She was right. We didn't need to screw up Monroe's formative years just because I wanted him to drink animal blood.

"He won't become a monster," Bella reassured me, her hand on my cheek. "He's going to be good, I can feel it. I mean, how can he not with awesome parents like us."

That got me to crack a smile. Bella had so much confidence in our parenting abilities. I'm glad one of us did.

I got a shot of foreign emotion. It was love, mixed with happiness. I had felt it before of course, but the source was foreign. Monroe. My smile grew wider. I rested my hands over Bella's belly.

"I can feel him," I said in amazement.

"Is he moving?" Bella asked me as she finished off her blood and sat the jug down.

"No, I can feel his emotions."

"Let me feel," Bella told me. I took Monroe's emotions on board before sending them directly to Bella. "Oh, Monroe," she cooed. "We love you so much as well. I can't believe how happy he is. Do you think he's old enough to hear us yet?"

"I don't know," I shrugged my shoulders, "maybe. He is definitely growing more and more every hour that passes. Try saying something and I will sense his emotions."

"Seriously, Jasper," she spoke, her voice rising. I could feel her emotions, she was only feeling mock anger. I focused on Monroe's emotions as Bella continued. "You think you know everything, but you don't. How can you think your way is the right way-"

I tuned Bella out. Monroe's happiness faltered slightly, but it never wavered. I turned my attention back to Bella and she stopped suddenly.

"What happened?" I asked her confused.

"Are you manipulating my emotions?" she asked me, feeling confusion.

"No."

"I feel happy, really happy." And she did. She was smiling so brightly and her emotions lined up perfectly with Monroe's. My emotions soon followed the same path.

"I think it's Monroe," I whispered quietly. "He might have a gift. Or maybe you're just affected because you're carrying him." It was definitely intriguing. I was just glad he was feeling positive emotions. He was so happy. Maybe everyone was right, maybe he would be good despite all the bad Bella and I had endured. I still wasn't sure.

I laid down and rested my ear against Bella's stomach, seeing if I could hear Monroe through the thick placenta. I could hear his heartbeat faintly. I sat my hand on Bella's thigh and began to drum her leg in time with Monroe's heartbeat.

"Is that his heartbeat?" Bella asked me and I nodded my head. I could feel her love grow. She started running her fingers through my hair.

"Monroe," I began slowly, my voice gruff. "Son." I didn't know what to say to him. A part of me still didn't believe that he existed. I know we talked about it, I know we agreed, but it all seemed too good to be true. It was all a dream. But here we were. I could feel his heart beating and feel his emotions clear as day. He was alive, he existed. He was my son.

"Don't mind your father," Bella spoke when I failed to continue. "He's not too good with the talking part." I sent her my confusion and she continued. "The first time your father and I hung out alone he was so awkward. I remember he spent the whole day sleeping and avoiding me because he had no idea how to talk to me."

I remembered that day clearly. Everything was so strained and I wondered whether or not Bella was were even worth it, but all it took was Esme's words to change my mind. I never had a reason to communicate before Bella came along. I still sucked at it now, but I was slightly better than that day.

"Maybe you can tell him a story," Bella prompted me. "Maybe of your past, or of me, either one."

I could tell she really wanted to hear a story about her and I knew I wasn't ready to speak of my past to my son just yet.

"There came a day," I began slowly, "where I was told that I had to claim your mother in order to protect her." Bella had not been told this story yet. "Your mother intrigued me, but that was all. In the end I was selfish. I decided to claim her because I didn't want her to falsely fall in love with another. You will learn about claiming and mating one day, my son, but this case was different because you mother is human. I claimed her by scent. I had to wear that stupid hooded green sweatshirt for days. I hated it, I still do, but I did what I had to do and it worked out in the end."

"So that's the story behind the sweatshirt?" Bella questioned. "Who was I going to fall in love with?" she asked me expectantly.

"Edward," I breathed out. "Alice laid it all out for me. The first day of school when he was back, he was going to talk to you. Alice said that you both mistook what you were feeling with what you most wanted and you thought you were in love, but you never were. I couldn't let you go through that, even if we weren't mated I didn't want you to suffer any more, plus it was Edward. Easy decision in the end."

"Well I'm glad you did, even if you didn't really want to."

"Anything for you, Bella," I told her. "I would do anything for you or our son," I promised her and her hand stopped in my hair.

"We will be happy," she promised me, "and Monroe will not be a monster." I don't know how she knew my one true fear when I never even admitted it to myself, but furthermore, I wished I could believe her.

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><p><strong>AN-** Sorry if this chapter just ended, but I'm still sick. I'll update when I can. In the meantime, get into the holiday spirit by reviewing.

My first novel, **Perfectly Scarred**, is available to **download** for **FREE** as a gift to all my Fan Fiction readers. Info is on my FF profile page. Make sure you grab and copy and tell me what you think.


	58. Chapter 58

**A/N- **Thank you for reviewing and all the well wishes.

I was sick and then it was suddenly Christmas, haha, that popped up out of nowhere, but I'm feeling better now :) Apart from a sore ankle, but I can't use that as an excuse not to write.

**Disclaimer- **I do not own Twilight

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Duct tape?" I asked Bella as I held out my hand and she let out a fit of giggles.

"Jasper, you cannot resort to using duct tape. You have the instructions right there, just put the crib together already."

"These?" I question Bella as I held up the single sided sheet of paper. "These aren't even in English, hell there's not words on it. It's all pictures and diagrams. How am I supposed to know which screw goes where?"

Stupid crib. Why were these things so hard to put together?

"You need to calm down," Bella suggested. She was two and a half weeks pregnant and big as a house, I wouldn't tell her that though. She was lying back on the couch just watching me try to put this damn crib together. Why did we even need one, surely he would grow out of it in a week? I tried to argue this point, but Bella wasn't having any of it.

"I don't need to be calm," I told her, staring at the instructions again. "Just get me a nail gun and I'll nail it together."

"Give me the instructions." I gladly handed them over to her.

"This should be simple for you," Bella told me, "you're a vampire." So? That didn't mean anything. "Grab the end piece," Bella told me as she pointed to it. I grabbed it and waited for her next instruction. "Now grab that long skinny piece, yes that one. Grab the little wooden pegs and stick it in the end and then stick the two pieces together. Good like that. Now grab a screw that's about two inches long." Two inches long? How could she even tell that by the stupid diagram? I didn't argue, I just found the screw and screwed it in. Huh, this was actually working.

I didn't talk, I just followed Bella's instructions. Sure there were a few cusses along the way and a time where I wasn't paying attention and the crib fell forward, cracking one piece of wood, but thankfully the piece of wood wasn't structurally important. It took awhile, but we finally got the damn thing together. As soon as it was made I shoved it into the corner and collapsed on the couch next to Bella.

"That was hell," I informed her, pulling her down so that her head was resting in my lap. I ran my fingers through her hair, just willing the tension to leave my body.

"I know," Bella agreed. "I had to watch you struggle for three hours, muttering 'damn crib' over and over again. It was so funny."

I could feel her amusement, she was lucky she was pregnant. She let out a groan and shifted.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, searching her emotions for pain, I only felt discomfort.

"I'm fine," Bella reassured me. "Monroe's just butting up against my ribs. Tell him a story, Jasper."

We had found that Monroe settled down when he heard my voice, especially when I told stories of his mother and I. Unfortunately I had exhausted every story possible from our time together, so I had moved on to my human life and now we were currently in the Civil War period. I tried telling him everything because I didn't want to hit the day of my change at all. I didn't know if Monroe could understand and comprehend what I was saying, but I would rather tell him of my time with Maria when he was old enough to understand it fully.

"During the Civil War," I began, still running my hands through Bella's hair, "there were these artists. Back then we didn't have cameras, so these young, fearless artists would join us on the battlefield and at camp, drawing what they saw to send back home to the newspapers. Everyone wanted to know how the war was going without actually having to experience it firsthand. Many died because they were so dedicated. They wanted to sketch the best scenes and usually didn't take into consideration that they were in the midst of the action.

"When I first met Garrett I thought he was one of these artists. He was always sketching, but he usually sketched people and not the battles. I don't know how he exactly joined me and my company. For the longest time he just tagged along, as an artist. But then a time came, something shifted for him and he informed me that he was actually a soldier. It was like he didn't really want to fight, but he wanted to be there to witness the war firsthand. I was shocked of course, I didn't believe him. He was an artist, several of his drawings had made it on to the front page of the major newspapers.

"There was a power struggle of sorts between the two of us for a long time. I didn't trust him, but he slowly showed me his worth. He was a skilled fighter, he was tactical, and he was a great asset. He always put himself before everyone else, protecting us all when need be. I thought he was a hero and he was, but he was also stupid. I thought he would surely get killed." I let out a laugh at that. "But I guess he never really could be killed."

"Did he ever use his vampire abilities?" Bella asked me sleepily. "Did you ever suspect anything?"

"In hindsight he used a lot of vampire abilities, his speed and strength mainly. At the time I just put it down to adrenalin, that and I didn't want to think of what it might be. I suspected that he was actually on the other side. He was so strange, so unlike us all. A lot of us had grown up together, but Garrett, I really did think he was infiltrating us. I confronted him one day and he got so angry and started ranting about the British and how the people in power of the North were exactly like them. I never questioned him again. Though I do rib him every now and then for it.

"Ultimately there was one thing I admired about him above all else, it was that the war never seemed to harden or effect him. He was always so strong, so quick. He was a beacon of hope. Whenever we were feeling down he would cheer us up. He reminded me a lot of myself, we were both overly aware of the people who surrounded us and what they felt. It was such an honor to fight along his side and I'm truly glad to have him back now. He's a good friend."

"I like him too," Bella mumbled, "and I'm glad you have another friend."

She drifted off to sleep and I carefully stood up without disturbing her. The pregnancy was taking a toll on her human body and she got tired so easily. I helped her get to sleep as often as I could. I wanted her to be healthy and strong, so that our son would survive. I cared for him so much already and the thought of losing him broke my heart. I managed to pick her up without waking her and put her on the bed, covering her up with a blanket before leaving the room.

Charlie was arriving today, but I didn't tell Bella because I knew it would affect her routine. We had gotten into a solid one that seemed to work for all. Bella and I would spend the night sleeping in our bed. Morning came and we drank our blood together before Bella fell asleep again. For lunch, she actually got up and dressed and stayed awake for a few hours eating human food and hanging out with Rose and Char. Mid afternoon she would take another nap. She would awake around dinnertime and have a glass of blood and some more human food, and then we relaxed just watching TV before she fell asleep again. It was a good routine and I didn't want to disturb that. I could tell that the rest was helping her body out greatly and it was keeping Monroe calm.

I made my way to the main room to await their arrival. They would be here shortly. I had barely sat down on the couch next to Emmett, who was playing video games, when I was approached by Randall and Mary.

"Major," Randall began warily, holding tightly onto Mary's hand. "Mary and I have decided to take leave. We have found that we are mated and we would like to travel and explore. We were planning on traveling all throughout the Americas and wanted to know if you wanted us to spread word of our time here for all to hear."

It was a good idea, and losing Randall and Mary was not a big deal at this stage. Neither of them had a gift and they were not trusted enough to know of Monroe's existence. Having them out of the way might work out well, plus they could become messengers. Informing everyone of the shift in power, but reassuring them that we were nothing like the Volturi.

"That would be acceptable, thank you," I told them sincerely. "When will you be leaving?"

"Now," Randall answered and I could feel Mary's fear. I turned my gaze on to her.

"Speak," I prompted her.

"The wolf, the thought of her scares me. I lost my child to a dog attack. I'm not ready to face my fear yet."

Understandable.

"Leah is harmless. Maybe when you come back to visit you can meet her, but only if you're ready. We've enjoyed having you here. I would get Bella to say goodbye, but she is resting right now."

"We understand," Randall told me, "tell her goodbye from us."

"I will," I promised them and then they were gone.

"Oh man," Emmett whistled out loud. "I remember when you were sitting in the cafeteria in Forks High just grumbling about having to pretend to eat food, now look at you, Jasper, you're a freaking ruler and people respect you and look up to you."

He was right, but I was still the same person and to show him this I grabbed the Xbox controller and began playing with him.

Three hours passed and it was good to relax and just focus solely on the video game. The break was well needed and received. However as soon as I sensed Charlie's approach I abandoned Emmett and went to greet him. I watched as Charlie drove a new SUV up our makeshift driveway. It was somewhat sad not to see him in his police cruiser anymore. Maybe I could get him a siren and lights for his new car. I knew just how much he was giving up by joining us in Montana and living with the vamps. It was a sacrifice I wouldn't quickly forget.

When they pulled up out front I met them. Grabbing their suitcases from the back. Charlie and Sue woke the two kids up. Leah, Alice's mate, and a young boy, Seth, maybe fifteen years old. They slowly woke up and stretched. I went and stood by Charlie's side.

"Jasper," he said and I could feel his turmoil. "How's Bella?"

"Still sick," I answered. "Once we get everyone settled I'll show you to her."

Charlie nodded his head and we all made our way inside. Peter came and opened the door for me. I gave him the Chief's car keys to put the car in our underground garage. Once we entered I could feel everyone's shock and then Charlie's fear and amusement. I turned around to face him. He was looking at our newly installed sign, _Your diet, your choice_.

"What's this?" he asked me, amusement fully overtaking his fear.

"You're human, Charlie, I don't think it applies to you, but anyone who lives here is able to choose their diet, whatever it may be." I could feel Sue's fear spike. "Don't worry," I reassured her. "I have informed everyone that your blood is off limits, and furthermore I have told them that you come first because you are Bella's family. If they have a problem with you then they leave. Simple as that." I could feel her gratitude. "Let me show you to your rooms."

I led the way up the staircase, all the way up to the fourth floor, that same floor Bella and I were on. I stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"That's Bella and my room," I told them all, motioning towards the end of the hall with my head. "It's completely protected and shielded. If there's ever any trouble head there. It's locked and only a few people have the access to open it. As soon as I can I will set up your access, Charlie. Now, down the other end," I told them as I began walking down the hall, "this is your part of the house. No one can enter it unless they have your permission. We are the only ones on the fourth floor at this stage, but Alice will probably join us until Leah becomes of age and then they can have their own space."

I managed to open up the door and once I was inside I set the bags down. I could instantly feel their amazement. It was similar to mine and Bella's room, but it had a few exceptions. As soon as you entered there were two doors, one to the left, one to the right. Leah and Seth's rooms. All completely decked out with walk in closets and bathrooms.

"Leah, your room is to the left. Seth, to the right. Esme and the girls decorated them for you, but if you want anything changed we can do that. Leah opened her door first and entered, we all stepped in after her. I grabbed her suitcases and set them in her room for her. She walked around just taking it all in. The thing that caught my eye though was a photo of Leah and Alice that was sitting in a frame next to the bed. They were tangled up in each other's arms on the Clearwater's couch, they looked so happy.

Leah ran her hand over her elegant four poster bed before turning her attention to me. "Thank you so much, Jasper," she said earnestly, "for everything, especially Alice."

"Of course," I told her with a smile. "And feel free to come to me anytime if you have any issues about Alice because I believe I've encountered them all. When is she arriving anyway?" I was surprised she wasn't with Leah.

"She needs to pack up all her clothes," Leah informed me and I smiled. That would take a while. "Plus she wants to say goodbye to the Cullen's. She said she knew you would protect me with your life, something about you owing her for her giving you your mate."

I shook my head. Alice. I would always like her. I knew I owed her a lot. I was going to run, I always was, but Alice didn't let me. She waiting until I had met Bella, she waiting until she knew that I would no longer run. The whole reason I had Bella was because of her and I would never forget that.

"Me next?" Seth asked excitedly and I immediately liked his emotional makeup, he was so childish and carefree.

"Of course," I told him as we left Leah's room and Seth burst into his. I grabbed his bags and set them just inside the door.

"So cool," Seth said excitedly. "Thanks, Jasper."

It seemed like the average boy's teenage room. Dark blue walls, posters on the wall, every piece of technology ever made visible. It was good and I was glad he was happy. I left him to look at his room and walked back into the hallway. I stopped at the next door and faltered. Charlie caught it.

"What's behind that door?" he asked me carefully.

"This is Bella's room," I told him somewhat sadly. "She is your daughter Charlie and I wanted a place where she could go to get away from me if she ever needed. I know just how much you love and care for each other and I want you to know that I'm not here to take her away from you, not when you only just got her back. I understand that she is only sixteen and that she may act older than that, but she still needs her family, she still needs you. I can be an ass at times and she will seek refuge with you, I know this, I understand it. I made her this room, but she doesn't know about it yet. Plus, our room doesn't have windows for security reasons, she will undoubtedly miss the sun," I tried to finish off on something simple.

I could feel Charlie's pride as he placed his hand on my shoulder. It was so genuine. I didn't shake it off, but I was still having trouble accepting it. I moved out of his grasp and grabbed his and Sue's bags. Alice had already bought them all new clothes, so they only brought the things they loved most from home. I walked through the common room, stopping briefly to explain it. Not that I needed to, it was pretty simple. A kitchen and a family room, combined in one big space, fully stocked with everything they needed. I walked straight over to the other door and opened it up. I walked in first and set down their bags.

It was just a standard bedroom. "I'll let you get settled," I told them, stepping back. "Charlie, I will go wake Bella up and then you can see her." He nodded his head.

"Thank you, Jasper," Sue told me kindly. I smiled slightly before leaving.

I was almost at the door when someone jumped onto my back, their excitement crushing me.

"Thank you so much, Jasper, this is so cool," came Seth's excited voice. I allowed him to stay on my back. I liked his emotions.

"That's fine, Seth, I hope you will be happy here."

"I'm sure I will be, brother."

Seth called me brother? I guess that's what we were, technically. I was surprised to find that I like being called that from him.

"Okay," I told Seth as I helped him down from my back, "I need to check on your sister. Emmett is in the main room on the second floor playing video games, maybe you can ask Sue and Charlie if you can join him."

"Yes! Awesome!" Seth said excitedly running down the hall. I smiled at him, the only other person I had meet with as pure emotions as him was Angela. I was somewhat sad that we had uprooted the Clearwater's and changed their lives forever, but then again I knew that this was the best and safest place for them.

I left their, apartment I guess you would call it and walked down the long hallway to mine and Bella's room. I opened the door quietly in case she was still asleep and she was. I made my way over to the bed and laid next to her. "Bella," I spoke softly, running my fingers down her face. "Bella, wake up, I have a surprise for you." She began stirring and opening her eyes, but she was still half asleep. I waited a little bit. "Bella," I coaxed again, "your surprise is waiting for you."

She heard me that time. I got a strong flash of annoyance and fear from her. What was it with Bella and receiving surprises? The quick, strong doses of emotions seemed to disturb Monroe and he shifted inside her too quickly. I heard something crack and then Bella screamed out in pain. Oh no, what had I done? I could feel her pain, it was so bad and it affected me immediately. Oh god, what had I done? Why did we think that having Monroe was a good idea? He hurt my mate, my son hurt my mate. Monroe shifted again and I heard another crack. No! Stop it! Just stop it! Why was he hurting her? I didn't want him to hurt her, I had to do something. I had to stop him.

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><p><strong>AN- **An awesome cliffhanger right there...

I can't remember Seth's exact age from the book, but I know it's younger than fifteen, but he's fifteen in this story.

Review.


	59. Chapter 59

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing, you guys are the best. I won't waste any time here.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

_She heard me that time. I got a strong flash of annoyance and fear from her. What was it with Bella and receiving surprises? The quick, strong doses of emotions seemed to disturb Monroe and he shifted inside her too quickly. I heard something crack and then Bella screamed out in pain. Oh no, what had I done? I could feel her pain, it was so bad and it affected me immediately. Oh god, what had I done? Why did we think that having Monroe was a good idea? He hurt my mate, my son hurt my mate. Monroe shifted again and I heard another crack. No! Stop it! Just stop it! Why was he hurting her? I didn't want him to hurt her, I had to do something. I had to stop him._

I knew what I had to do.

Several things suddenly happened. First, I could feel Bella's fear, and second, the door to our room burst open. I spun around fast. My eyes were undoubtedly black, my face beyond fierce. "Leave us!" I growled to the newcomer. I was too angry to process who it was. "Now!" I warned them. They faltered, but didn't leave. "Leave or I kill her too," I snapped. I knew it was a lie, but they didn't. They finally gained some sense and left us alone.

"Jasper, no, please," Bella pleaded me.

"Shut up," I hissed at her.

I placed my hands on her stomach and closed my eyes. I knew what I had to do, I had to calm my son down. I focused on him and then I focused on building up the calm. When I had achieved the amount I wanted I sent it to my son. I could feel his shock, he didn't know what was happening. I kept the calm up, slowly basking my son in it. He fought it at first, he didn't like his emotions to be manipulated it seemed, but he needed to accept it. I sent him my determination, wondering if he even understood what any of these emotions meant. His emotions began settling and the happiness he felt always started to return. I kept the calm up until I could feel that he was asleep.

As soon as Monroe was safe and calm I turned my attention to Bella. She was still feeling pain, but I was glad to see that it wasn't life threatening. "Don't move," I whispered to Bella before jumping up from the bed. I walked straight over to the intercom and barked out my orders.

"Sue Clearwater may enter, no one else," I warned them, trying to make my voice sound as menacing as possible. We needed medical help right now and I remembered hearing that Sue was a nurse. I went back over to Bella and grabbed her hand within my own. "Bella. Bella," I said as I nuzzled her hand against my face. "Please tell me that you're alright."

"I'm fine," Bella answered, but I could still feel her fear. "Don't ever kill our son, Jasper," she warned me, "and if it comes down between me and him-"

"Stop!" I cut her off right then. I knew that if it came down to it I would always save her. I didn't want to hear her thoughts on the matter at all. "I would never kill him, not until I had exhausted every option possible." I could feel her acceptance and her fear vanished. "Now tell me what hurts?"

Bella's pain intensified at the mention of it.

"My ribs," Bella answered reaching her hand across to sit on her lower ribs on her right side.

I lifted her shirt and I could see the bruises already, they looked nasty. I reached out and ran my fingers along her ribs, they seemed intact, so hopefully they were only cracked. Where the hell was Sue?

The door finally opened and I didn't turn around to see who it was. If anyone else was with Sue then they wouldn't be for long. The door closed and I could only hear one set of footsteps, good. As Sue approached the bed I moved away from Bella slightly.

"How can I help?" Sue asked and I could feel her fear.

"Monroe, he shifted too quickly," I told Sue, meeting her eyes. "I think he cracked some of Bella's ribs." I moved out of the way so that Sue could have a look.

I stood by the bed and held my mate's gaze as Sue carefully touched Bella's side. I could feel Bella's pain and discomfort. I wish I could take her pain away, but my focus was solely on Monroe. I needed to be ready to send him calm at a moment's notice. I would not have him injuring Bella again. Bella was only halfway through her pregnancy. We needed to keep Monroe inside her for at least another week, at least. Sue was looking at Bella's side for a long time, but I left her be. She was probably shocked by the dark bruises, I knew I was.

"Jasper," she finally spoke, her voice quiet. "Come and look at this please."

I let go of Bella's hand and walked around the bed, glancing at Bella's side. "What?" I asked Sue confused as I looked at the fading bruises. What was going on?

"Maybe it's the vampire venom," Sue suggested. I guess Charlie told her all about Bella ingesting vampire venom.

All I knew is that Bella's heavily bruised side was now a yellow color. It didn't look as bad as it did. I reached out and ran my fingers over Bella's ribs. She let out a grunt of pain, but it wasn't that bad.

"What's happening?" Bella asked as she tried to look down at her ribs. The sudden movement shifted her ribs and I could hear a creak.

"Shush, Bella, you need to stay still. I think the vampire venom in your system is healing you. Remember when we were in that mudslide? You need to stay still, this is going to take some time."

"It's healing me?" I could feel Bella's amazement.

"I think so," I answered. I hoped so. I did not like seeing her in pain.

"Finally," Bella gritted out, closing her eyes. "Finally I'm getting something good out of ingesting that venom."

I leaned closer to Sue and whispered in her ear. "Get Charlie, Bella needs him through all this."

Sue nodded and stepped away from Bella. I got back on the bed and pressed my cool side carefully against Bella's healing ribs. I never thought much of Bella willingly drinking my venom, but now I was so thankful. I knew the venom stayed in her system, Carlisle had warned us that it would eventually make her sick, like radiation poisoning I guess. The more she's infected/exposed, the longer it stays in her body, the sicker she gets. But in the meantime the venom seemed to be healing her. I didn't know how that worked, but I didn't care.

I rested my head next to Bella's. Her eyes were still closed and I blanketed us all in some calm. I heard the door open again and I immediately sensed Charlie's turmoil.

"Bella?" he asked carefully as he stood by her side.

"Dad," Bella croaked out as she opened her eyes.

"Oh, Bella," Charlie said in relief as he sat down on the bed. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Dad, I'm sorry."

"Bella, enough of that," he told her seriously. "There is nothing to be sorry about. You're young, but you've always known what you wanted. How is the little guy?" he asked before looking down at Bella's stomach for the first time. "Bella, you're as big as a house."

I held my breath, that was one thing you could think, but you could never say out loud.

"Dad," Bella groaned with a smile. Huh, I guess some people could say that, I knew better though.

"How's it going really?" Charlie asked, unable to take his eyes off Bella's big stomach.

"Amazing," Bella answered without missing a beat. "I can feel him growing inside of me. It's strange knowing that Jasper and I created this being and that soon he will actually exist in this world. It's just amazing."

"I know," Charlie beamed. "I felt the exact same way about you when your mother was pregnant. You were a little miracle and the day you were born was the best moment of my life."

"Oh, Dad," Bella cried, the waterworks starting. "I love you so much."

"Me too, Bella. I'm so glad you were strong enough to come back to me, I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you completely."

"Never, Dad," Bella promised him.

"So Monroe, hey? Odd name." I admired Charlie's tact, keeping the conversation light and on Monroe.

"It's the name of the Texan county Jasper was born in," Bella told him proudly. "We like it."

"And if it's a girl?" Charlie questioned.

"It's a boy," Bella told him with finality.

"Humor me," Charlie told her, "Plus you don't know it's a boy for certain, do you?"

"Well no, but I just know that it is. We haven't thought of any girl names because of that fact."

"Okay," Charlie excepted, "but just remember that it's better to be safe than sorry."

I could feel Bella's confusion. She was wondering if Charlie was right. Was he right? We were so sure that Monroe was a boy, but what if he wasn't? I couldn't deal with that thought right now so I pushed it aside. I could feel Monroe stirring, so I sent him some more calm and he settled down. I was confident. As long as we could keep Monroe happy and calm we should be able to see this pregnancy through to full term. It would take around the clock effort, but it's what we would have to do.

**One week later...**

"_Darlin', won't you come home to me_," I finished singing as Bella and Monroe drifted off to sleep.

Ever since Bella broke her ribs we had a few upsets. It was easy to keep Monroe calm, but as he grew to full term he was getting too big for Bella's stomach and every move he made ended up causing Bella pain. The vampire venom couple with the blood she was drinking was healing her wounds slowly, but I knew that Monroe was getting too big to stay in there any longer. I needed to find a way to induce labor.

I had talked to Bella about getting a caesarean, but she was having none of it. She wanted to wait until Monroe was ready to come out. I on the other hand wasn't prepared to wait. I could see that he was getting too big and I needed to take action. I made sure Bella was soundly asleep, Monroe too. I noted that when they were both asleep they tended to stay relatively still. I sent them some calm before quickly leaving our room. I needed to be quick just in case something happened.

I made it to the main room and Zafrina suddenly appeared. I shook my head at her, I didn't need her gift right now. I passed Emmett and Seth who were on the couch playing video games, Leah was watching them. I quickly got into my office and sat down. I did a quick Google search for inducing labor and read all the information as fast as I could. There were risks, but I think they were risks we would have to take. I was wondering if I could induce the labor naturally, somehow.

I hit the button on the intercom and called Sue to my office. She would know the most about this. She entered and took a seat. I could feel her worry.

"We need to induce Bella," I told her outright. "Monroe is getting too big for her small body and she doesn't want a caesarean." Sue stayed silent. "I read that when a female goes into labor it has a lot to do with a hormone called oxytocin. It says that oxytocin plays a huge role and can even alter trust and decrease fear. It's also brought about by sexual arousal. These are all emotions. I was thinking of coming up with an emotional cocktail that replicates oxytocin to induce Bella, do you think it would work?"

Sue stayed silent, thinking it over.

"Maybe," she answered. "As you said, Jasper, they are all emotions and manipulating Bella's emotions won't do any damage to her. I think it's worth a try."

Good. I would try.

"I want you there in case it happens, in case anything goes wrong. I think it's best to start inducing her when she's asleep. She wants Monroe to come naturally so badly and I don't want to take that from her."

"If you get this to work, then it will be mostly natural," Sue tried to reassure me with her words. I didn't like going behind Bella's back, but I couldn't lose her or the baby.

I called Peter, Garrett and Rose into my office.

"Do we have everything we need if Bella goes into labor?" I asked them and Peter spoke up.

"We are ready to go. Everything is in stored in the room just outside of yours."

Good.

"We need to be ready as she can start at a moment's notice. Everyone be prepared to drop anything they may be doing and help out. Sue and Charlie will be there to support Bella. I would also ask Rose and Garrett to be there." They nodded their heads in acceptance. "Peter I would like it if you and Charlotte could stay with the others and keep an eye on Leah and Seth." He too nodded his head. "Okay, you are dismissed. I will call you whenever Bella's condition changes." They all left the room, but before the door closed fully I could feel Sue's fear and acceptance. I was out of my office in an instant.

I walked into the main room and I could see Seth shaking with anger. Oh no, this is not what we needed right now. It seemed as though he was making the change into wolf. This was not good. I needed to act quickly, I couldn't have a new wolf anywhere near Bella.

"Leah, Emmett," I spoke up. "Take Seth away from the house, help him through the change. If you need anything then call us." I stepped over to Seth and place my hand on his face, sending him some calm. "Seth, it's going to be okay," I reassured him. "Be brave and strong." He nodded his head slightly before Leah and Emmett dragged him out the back.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus myself. Seth becoming a wolf was not what we needed right now. I cursed myself for not thinking of this scenario when I sent for Charlie to arrive earlier. I should have known that the unknown vampires would surely start the change. I let out a sigh. I couldn't deal with this, not right now. I needed to help Bella. I left them be and ran back up to my room. Bella was still sleeping soundly and so was Monroe.

I thought back to all the information I had read and I began formulating the perfect emotional cocktail to induce Bella. This was so important, probably the most important thing I had ever down. I made a mix of sexual arousal, lust, love and trust. I knew trust was one of the main factors in oxytocin, so I put as much trust into it as I was able. When I was happy with my mix, I slowly sent it to Bella. She shifted in her sleep, but she didn't wake up. I kept on upping the dose, just hoping that it would work. I could smell her arousal and she began rubbing her legs together. Something was missing though, she was still fearful. I grabbed her fear and slowly pulled it from her.

Nothing was happening. I kept it up. Reanalyzing the text I had just read in my mind and then it hit me. I needed to dose Monroe with this dose as well. I focused on my son and slowly sent him a concentrated dose. I needed to wake up his brain, get it to make the switch. He needed to know that it was time to get a move on. I kept it up and things suddenly started changing.

First, Bella's eyes shot straight open and next I felt the most amount of pain I had ever felt. I fell to my knees instantly. Bella let out a scream and I somehow managed to climb onto the bed.

"I think it's starting," Bella gritted out between clenched teeth and I was so happy. It had worked. "Argh!" Bella screamed out and her pain hit me once again. It was so powerful, so strong. I felt a wetness on the bed and worked out that Bella's water had just broken. Her labor was beginning. Monroe was on his way. I was so excited and so nervous. I just hoped that nothing went wrong and they both survived the birth. Bella grabbed onto my hand and squeezed tightly. Ow.

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><p><strong>AN- **Another cliffhanger, I know, but yeah, Monroe is making his way into the world.

Review because the next chapter is going to be so awesome!


	60. Chapter 60

**A/N- **Thanks for all the reviews guys.

Sixty chapters! Whoo!

Now let's have this baby, haha, some of you think it's a girl, some think it's a boy... Read on and find out.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"You've got to breathe, Bella," Sue slowly coached her.

Bella was fully dilated and it had only been four hours since I induced her. I was holding her right hand tightly in my own, Charlie had her left. Sue was delivering the baby, Garrett to her left, Rose to her right. We still weren't sure if Bella could give birth naturally, but we were going to try.

"Breathe, breathe," Sue coached and Bella copied her breathing.

"Argh!" Bella screamed and her pain hit me. I faltered on my feet, but managed to stay standing. I hated that she was in so much pain. The pain was so great, I don't know how she was enduring it.

I felt Monroe's emotions spike again and I covered him in calm and comfort, he calmed down.

"Okay, Bella, on the next contraction we're going to push."

Bella grunted out in response and I could feel her relief. I kept a lot of my focus on Monroe, we were so close now that I couldn't risk him hurting Bella. Every time he became distressed I sent him more calm. Bella's next contraction was on top of us and Sue told her to push and she did. She pushed twice and I could feel Sue's shock. I shook it off, I couldn't deal with that right now. I had to focus on Bella. Bella met my gaze and I never looked away. She was told to push again and she did. She did a big push and I could feel her relief. I never broke our gaze, I was so proud of her. I bent down and kissed her on the forehead. I was so, so proud.

Bella calmed down and began breathing normally.

"Monroe's not out yet, Bella," Sue told her and I could feel Bella's confusion and concern. "He's not ready just yet. We'll check on the next contraction."

We weren't done yet? What the hell had all that pushing been about before. I looked up at the others. Everyone was still in place except Rose who was off to the side, but there was nothing there. Maybe she was just too squeamish. Another contraction came and Sue checked to see if Monroe was crowning.

"Okay, Bella, push on the next one."

I could feel Bella's frustration, but also her resolve.

Her next contraction came and she squeezed my hand so hard that the bones popped. I looked over at Charlie, but he seemed fine. Maybe Bella was only squeezing hard on my hand. She pushed and she pushed hard. "His head is out," Sue informed us. Bella pushed again and his shoulders exited next. "One more push," Sue told Bella and I leaned forward to get a look at my son being born. First thing I noticed was his brown wavy hair, he was so beautiful. Bella pushed again and Sue grabbed his shoulders and helped pull him free. He was born, he was here. I was so relieved.

I focused on Bella, but she seemed to be fine. No one was frantic, no one was rushing around. She was fine. I don't know how we did it, but we managed to deliver a hybrid baby with no bloodshed. It was a miracle. Between the human blood, vampire venom and my gift, maybe we made this happen so easily. Sue wiped Monroe's face clean and wrapped him in a blanket. He was so quiet. He hadn't cried out yet, but I could see that he was breathing. Sue grabbed baby Monroe and gave him to Bella.

"It's a boy," Sue informed her. Bella held him tightly and we just stared at him. He was so beautiful and we were so happy. Monroe shocked us both by opening his clear blue eyes and staring up at us. He was actually looking at us and he felt so happy that it affected us both until our emotions lined up with his perfectly.

"Monroe," Bella whispered in a tired voice. "We're so happy you're here."

"Yes, we are," I affirmed and Monroe smiled a dopey smile. Oh man, we were so screwed.

"Ah, Bella," Rose spoke carefully. "You have twins."

My head shot up confused. What?

Rose stepped forward, a pink bundle in her hands. As she got closer to me I gasped, there was nothing there, well there was, but I couldn't see anything. The baby had been wrapped in a blanket and had a pink hat on its head, but it was completely invisible. It must be a shield. I guess that's the reason I never sensed a second child in Bella, but thinking back to how big Bella was it made a lot of sense.

"It's a girl," Rose told me as she handed me the small bundle.

A girl? I had a daughter. This didn't seem possible. We had a daughter and a son? I moved over so that Bella could see our little girl as well.

"Great," Bella mumbled, "she's invisible." I had to agree with her, this was no ideal, what if we misplaced the poor kid.

"Try shielding her," Garrett suggested. "Maybe it will interfere with her shield and she will drop it."

I looked at Bella and she was just as shocked as me. I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't know we would have twins, let alone that one would actively be a shield. Bella focused what little energy she had and attempted to cover us all in her shield. As soon as she did something rippled along the edges, something new, it must be from our little girl. I smiled at that, she was already so good with her shield just like her mother. It took a little bit, but once the shield had stopped rippling our little girl dropped her shield and became visible to us. My mouth opened in shock. She was just a beautiful as Monroe. She had longer hair than I expected. It was blonde with ringlets touching her shoulders and she had Bella's soulful brown eyes. She was so beautiful. Both our children were. They were a perfect mix of both Bella and I.

Monroe finally dropped his gaze from us and turned his head to look at his sister. I could feel his shock, I guess she never dropped her shield in the womb. They stared intently at each other and then Monroe reached out and took our little girl's hand into his own. Her face scrunched up and then she slowly shielded Monroe as well, making him invisible before pulling it back. Monroe smiled his silly dopey smile at her before his face scrunched up in concentration and he sent something to his sister. Her face changed immediately, she was smiling so wide and then she let out a small giggle. Oh no, what had we gotten ourselves into?

I looked at Bella and she was looking at me, the same expression on her face, one of impending doom. One child I could handle, but two? And twins at that? This was not ideal, but as I looked down at my two children and I felt the love they felt towards each other I didn't care. We would figure this out, just like we figured everything else out. But two? My little solider and my little angel. Wait, we needed a girl's name.

"She needs a name," I told Bella.

Bella had just known Monroe's name, so maybe she knew our little girl's name as well.

She was thoughtful for a minute, looking down at both our children before she finally spoke.

"Montana," she told me with a smile. "Monroe and Montana." I smiled at that. Monroe was my beginning, where I was born, and Montana is our future. It was perfect.

"Monroe and Montana," I spoke out loud to my children. "My little soldier and my little angel. I love you so fucking much."

"Jasper," Bella hissed, "language."

I just shook my head in response, these kids would be a old as us before we knew it, so why should we hold back and censor ourselves? We shouldn't. I wouldn't argue with Bella though, not today. She did just birth my two children after all.

"Try pulling your shield back," I told Bella. "Then we can introduce Monroe and Montana to everyone." I could tell that holding her shield in place was taxing for Bella's tired body and mind. If it was up to me I would stay in our perfect little bubble for the rest of our lives.

Bella dropped it instantly and I could feel her exhaustion fully. I looked down at Montana and I could no longer see her, but I noted that if I concentrated really hard she slowly became visible. I don't know if this was reality or just my perception, but I could get small glimpses of her, yet I knew that her shield never faltered. Someone cleared their throat and I looked up. Charlie, Sue, Garrett and Rose were all looking at us expectantly.

"Family, friends," I spoke. "I would like to formally introduce you to our children, Monroe Jasper Whitlock and Montana Swan Whitlock." Everyone smiled brightly, but it was Rose's excitement and love that crushed me. "Here," I said as I beckoned Rose over, "come and meet Montana." I handed Montana over and not a second later Rose was completely invisible. I guess my little angel liked Rose, just like Bella. It amazed me just how much like Bella she was. Did this mean that Monroe was just like me?

I looked over at him and he smiled at me, his happiness ever present. I reached out and traced his cheek, his light blue eyes sparkling back at me. Monroe reached up and grabbed my finger holding it tightly. He squeezed and my finger cracked, I guess he had vampire strength. I pulled my finger from him and straightened it before it healed. I could feel Bella's fatigue so I took Monroe from her.

"Monroe," I spoke to him seriously as he gazed up into my eyes. "You and your sister are strong, but you have to remember to be careful with your Mom because she's not as strong as us, okay?" I don't know why I asked him. I wasn't even sure he understood me, but I swear I saw him nod his head.

"Jasper," my mate asked me and I could feel her discomfort. I quickly passed Monroe off to the nearest person, it was Charlie, and focused on Bella. "It hurts. Give me some venom please and then I need to rest." I gauged her emotions and she did seem overly tired. I guess giving birth did take a lot out of you.

I didn't hesitate. I sliced my wrist open and held it against Bella's mouth. She drank greedily, yet I could still feel her disgust. She drank a lot, probably more than she ever had, but I just hoped it would do the job and that it would heal her. The wound finally closed over and Bella lay back against the pillows. I was just about to manipulate her emotions, but she fell asleep all on her own. I looked her over, just making sure that she was alright, she seemed fine. She was fine, she was alive. When her emotions became peaceful I turned my attention to the others.

"Congratulations, Jasper," Garrett told me as he brought me into a manly hug. "I'm so happy for you. I'll leave so that Peter and Charlotte can come in."

"Thank you," I told him as I pulled out of the hug.

I turned back to Bella and covered her with a blanket before ushering everyone away from the bed and over to the couches. I sat down, mentally drained. I watched Charlie hold my son, with Sue at his side, and I tried to gauge where an invisible Rose was with my daughter. We had two kids, I still couldn't believe it. I decided to focus on the emotional climate of the room and basked in the happiness and peace that surrounded me. Monroe's emotions flickered and I could feel his thirst. Right, you've got to feed them as well. I jumped up and began pouring human blood into two bottles before heating them up in a saucepan of hot water. Sue came over to help me which I was thankful for.

Once the blood was warm I handed one bottle to Charlie who let out a huff of disgust before holding the other one to out where I thought Rose was sitting. She grabbed it from me and it too turned invisible, strange. Charlie's disgust grew and the next thing I know I'm sitting on the couch with Monroe in my arms as I feed him his bottle. I guess Charlie could only handle so many things.

"I'm gonna go," Charlie said awkwardly, looking anywhere but at the blood bottle. "Tell me when Bella wakes up." He didn't wait for a response, he just left the room. Sue stayed and I was thankful for that.

A few minutes after Charlie left Peter and Charlotte entered.

"Oh, Jasper," Charlotte gushed, sitting down next to me on the couch. "He's so beautiful. Monroe took that time to gulp down the rest of his blood before smiling a bloody smile up at Char. I grabbed his empty bottle and sat it on the coffee table. Just as I straightened up, Rose threw Montana's empty bottle at my head. I caught it easily and sat it down next to Monroe's.

"What was that?" Charlotte asked confused and I noted that Peter was warily standing by the door. I stood up with Monroe and handed him to Sue.

"There was a... complication during the birth," I told Char as I stepped over to Rose. I reached in through Montana's shield and Rose handed her over. As soon as she did Rose became visible again. "We got two for the price of one," I informed Char and I watched as her love grew. "This is Montana and she appears to be a shield like Bella, except so far we only know that she has the gift of invisibility."

"I want to see," Char said holding out her hands. I handed Montana over carefully. "That's amazing," Char spoke in awe. "If it wasn't for the clothes I wouldn't know she was there at all." Montana must have been listening because soon the blanket and hat we put on her went invisible too. You couldn't even tell she was there, no scent, no sounds. She was completely invisible.

Peter cautiously came over to look at Montana. Charlotte's arms shifted and Peter leaned in closer. I focused hard on my daughter and I could see her. She was reaching up to Peter with both hands, trying to grab him.

"She wants you to hold her, Peter" I told him and I could feel his shock. "Sit down next to Char," I prompted him and he did so. When he was safely sitting down Char handed Montana over to him. Peter was wary at first, but as soon as Montana settled in his arms his smile grew. It didn't take long for Montana to shield Peter in her invisibility cloak. Allowing only him to see her fully. I noted that she had only done that with Bella and I, Monroe, Rose and Peter. I guess she must feel connected to them and trust them fully to let them in.

Sue handed Monroe back to me and after kissing him on the forehead I handed him to Char.

"Monroe," I whispered to him. "This is your Aunt Charlotte." He smiled his dopey smile at her again and she was done for.

"Of course you and Bella would have two gifted children," Rose spoke as she hovered behind the couch keeping an eye on my children. "A girl with an invisibility shield and a boy..." she paused, trailing off. "Well I don't know what his gift is just yet, but I know that we can all feel his happiness and are affected by it. They're going to be powerful just like their parents."

I had to agree. They both definitely seemed to have gifts and Montana's was definitely a powerful one, especially seeing as she already had just great control over it. Maybe she learned from Bella in the womb, from when Bella used her shield. Either way I was so proud of her. I tried sending her my pride and I could feel her acceptance. I got nothing back though, so I assume she is just a shield. I turned my attention to Monroe and sent him my love. He looked at me and smiled, but all I could feel was his pure and innocent happiness. What was his gift exactly? I guess time would tell because I knew I wasn't going to ask Eleazar's opinion that's for sure.

Things began settling down and Monroe and Montana fell asleep. I took them off their babysitters, one at a time, and sat them in the crib together. They immediately sought out each other's hand even in sleep. Everyone congratulated me again and left when I promised I would inform them as soon as Bella woke up. When everyone left I took a huge breath and sighed in relief. It felt better like this, just Bella and I, and our children. I grabbed the crib from the corner and pulled it over to the bed, butting it up against Bella's side, before climbing in the other side and bringing Bella into my arms. I was exhausted, but so happy.

Monroe was finally here and he brought Montana with him, sneakily little thing my angel was. I held Bella gently and just stared at our children. Monroe was completely visible, but Montana kept on fading in and out. I couldn't wait to teach her to use her gift fully and to get her to understand that being in this room meant that you didn't need to use your shield at all. But if she was anything like Bella that would be a hard task, even now Bella still liked to shield herself in this room, even when there was no need to. I was just glad that Monroe's gift was less active.

I kissed Bella on the neck and sent her my pride and happiness. She shifted and buried her face in my chest. I couldn't wait until she awakened so that she could meet our beautiful children fully.

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><p><strong>AN- **We have children. I've had the idea of Montana for almost as long as I've had the idea of Monroe and it was so hard not to spill it to you guys :)

Review and I'll update as soon as I can.


	61. Chapter 61

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing. I'm so glad y'all are so receptive to the addition of Montana.

Okay so I did up a photo of Monroe and Montana during several stages of their childhood/adulthood. In hindsight, I spent way too much time on it, but I guess it was worth it. So take a look at what the kids look like now/will look like in the future. It's not perfect, but it's better than nothing. Link is on my profile page.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

Bella finally began stirring in my arms. She had been asleep for seven hours. I had fed the babies again, but was happy to see that they liked sleeping just as much as their mother currently did. Neither had cried out yet and I wondered why that was, maybe they were too advanced for crying. I was just glad I could feel Monroe's hunger before it got to that stage. Montana kept her shield up and I had a feeling it had to do with her mother. If Bella still felt the need to shield herself then of course her own daughter would feel the same way.

Bella stretched and let out a groan. She was feeling a little pain and soreness, but it was nothing to worry about. She lifted her arms above her head and hit me square in the chin, it hurt her more than me. Her eyes opened slowly and I could feel her love for me. I liked her like this, still in the process of waking up, having no idea of her surroundings. She was always so happy and full of love. Monroe woke with her and his happiness spiked and covered us all. It hit Bella and a beat later the world came back to her. She grabbed my face in her hands and stared at me, eyes wild.

"Jasper," she began, excitement coursing through her. "Monroe's finally here."

"Yep," I answered. She had yet to turn around and check on them. "Montana too."

"Montana?" Bella questioned, remembering. "Two babies, we have two babies?"

"I know," I agreed. "They're not a handful yet though."

"Yeah, yet," Bella mumbled, letting go of my face and turning to face our children. Monroe was fully awake smiling his silly smile at us. Montana was still asleep.

"Shield them," I whispered to Bella, "I want to see my little angel."

"Your angel?" Bella questioned and I could feel her love for us all. I just shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't going soft. "Baby boy," Bella cooed as she carefully reached into the crib and pulled Monroe out. She hugged him tightly and he just stared up at her in wonder and love. He sure did love him mama.

I reached out and brushed his cheek. He turned his attention to me and I could feel his love towards me. I sent my love back to him and his smile grew even wider. My silly boy.

"We made this," Bella said, her disbelief hitting me. "Me and you. He's ours."

I had to agree. It still seemed surreal. Charlie was right, it was a miracle. You convince yourself when they're in the womb that they're yours and that you made them, but when they come out and you see them, well everything goes out the window and you're completely dumbfounded. It doesn't seem real at all. You constantly have to keep reminding yourself that this is right, that this kid is yours. And we got two of them? I still don't know how that happened, but I couldn't imagine it any other way.

"Have they been fed?" Bella asked me almost accusingly.

"Yes, of course. They've had two blood bottles each. They could probably do with some breast milk or something though. Did your body make breast milk?" I had no idea what I was talking about, but I knew that I had to be careful here. I didn't know if Bella was still hormonally crazed, but I was sure there wasn't an on/off switch for that. Have the baby, no longer act crazy. Yeah, that didn't exist. She was staring at me so oddly. _Shit_. "Maybe try feeding him," I suggested.

Her face calmed and she became excited.

"Okay." She lifted up her shirt and put Monroe in place, but he didn't do anything.

"Here," I said as I reached over and sliced her skin right above her nipple.

"Jasper," Bella hissed in pain. "That was not a good idea." And I guess it wasn't.

Monroe latched on and began drinking. I could see both blood and milk go into his mouth, so all was well. Monroe drank quickly, clearly liking the combination, but his small stomach filled up fast and I could feel his disappointment as he pulled away. That made me smile and I was so proud of my son. Even though he was full, he had enough restraint to pull away, maybe he was not like me at all and that was a good thing.

Montana woke up and I was surprised to feel her emotions. She was happy and full of love like her brother, but she lacked his intensity. Maybe she didn't feel the need to block me just like Bella didn't. Perhaps their shields were connected in some way, I didn't know. I reached over Bella and picked up Montana. She was completely visible to me, but I knew she still had her invisibility cloak in place. "Hey," I told her as I smiled down at her, she smiled back. I could feel her hunger.

"Montana's hungry," I told Bella, "do you want to feel her the same way?"

I could feel Bella's reluctance, but she nodded her head. We switched off babies and I re-sliced her open. Montana took a different approach than her brother. She was more careful and slowly poked at the wound with her tongue. Once she realized it was blood, she latched on, but she did it carefully. She took small gulps and didn't pull on her mother at all. It was amazing to see her restraint. She was so remarkable already and she wasn't even twelve hours old yet.

Monroe began squirming in my arms and I could feel his discomfort. I held him up and not a second later he spit up all over my shirt. It was blood mixed with milk and it smelled horrible. I could feel Bella's amusement, but I was not amused. I held Monroe away from me, at arm's length. Somehow he managed to projectile vomit all on me, yet he was completely clean. I was not impressed. Monroe was smiling at me and I could feel his happiness pushing at me. I ignored it, well for as long as I could, but it penetrated me. I frowned, how could he make me feel happy even if I didn't want to? I had no idea.

I sat him in his crib by Bella's side and ripped my shirt off. It smelled so bad. Who knew something so cute could make something so disgusting, and during that thought it hit me, babies have to go to the bathroom don't they? Great. I could only hope they were like vampires and didn't have to, but I knew that was wrong. They ate human food and that had to come out somewhere. Great. How long until they were no longer babies? A month, two? I hoped it was shorter than that.

I threw my shirt in the trash, I didn't care if it was salvageable or not. I put on another much to Bella's displeasure and joined her back on the bed. She tried handing me Montana, but I shook my head no. There was no way I was holding her after she just fed. I reached over and grabbed Monroe out of the crib and held him warily. Was he going to spit up again? Did it only happen after he ate? Why didn't I read all those parenting books that Bella had? I was totally lost. Monroe smiled up at me and cooed. He was teasing me, I just knew it.

I cocked my eyebrow at him, just daring him to continue, but he seemed to know my game because his smile never faltered. I wondered how Bella and I could make such a happy child, but then I remembered that nothing had tainted him yet. He was still brand new to this world. No one had influenced him yet, he didn't know any of the bad, only the good. He still held his innocence. I knew one day he would most likely lose that and it broke my heart. I reached up and rubbed my chest subconsciously. That was not a good thought at all. I could feel Monroe's happiness again and I didn't ignore it this time.

"We're so lucky," Bella whispered as she looked at our two children.

"We are," I agreed.

"Thank you," Bella told me, meeting my eyes. "Thank you for giving me this, Jasper."

"I would give you anything you asked for," I promised her.

"Can you tell me more about the newborn phase?"

"Why? Are you thinking about making the change?" I countered.

"No, not yet. I don't want to miss a second of the twins childhood, but maybe when they're older. Will I really lose a whole year?" I could feel her fear and rightly so. Becoming a vampire was not an easy task, some didn't even make it through the change, but I knew Bella would have no issues with that.

"Yes and no," I answered honestly. I didn't particularly like that we were discussing this matter in front of our children, but they would have to learn about it eventually. "Everybody reacts differently. Some have control right off the bat, most don't. They are blood crazed, always hungry, unable to think about anything else. They attack, drink and kill without a second thought. They don't care where the blood comes from or at what cost, only that it is theirs. I can't tell you that you'll be fine, Bella, I can't promise you that because most likely you won't, but I can promise you that I will be by your side always."

"Thank you." Bella earnestly replied before stretching up to meet my lips. I could feel Bella's full range of emotions and I pulled away, looking down at Montana, she was no longer shielding herself. I didn't draw attention to her.

"My turn to ask a question. When are we going to tell the Cullen's about this? There is no way we can keep this from them. They will not appreciate meeting our fully grown children in seven years time." I could feel Bella's agreement. I could just imagine that, _hey Esme, Carlisle, meet our seventeen year old children. Yeah they're half human, half vampire. Sorry we didn't tell you. That_ would definitely not go over well.

"They've been gone a month, maybe we can call them back to visit," Bella suggested. Oh no, that would not work.

"I want to tell them by phone," I countered. "I'm not sure if they will tell Edward, I hope not, but I don't want to be anywhere near them when that happens."

"We should call them now. I have a feeling this is one of those, the longer you wait the worse it'll be, things," Bella told me and I agreed.

I had seen Esme's bad side and I wasn't willing to see it again. I grabbed out my phone, dialed the house number and put it on speaker. We sat there anxiously, just listening to the phone ring. I just hoped they were home and that Edward and Bree were out, but I knew that was wishful thinking. The phone finally got picked up.

"Hello, Cullen residence." It was Bree, great. Second worst scenario.

"Hey, Bree, it's Bella." I'm so glad Bella spoke first.

"Oh, Bella, are you okay? Randall and Mary passed through here and said you weren't feeling too well. I hope you're better now."

"Much better, Bree, still on the mend though."

"I'm so glad."

"Hey, Bree," I interrupted her. "Can we speak to Esme?"

"Oh, yeah, I'll just get her."

"Bree," I spoke again, hoping like hell this would work. "Edward's feeling some pretty big lust right now, I bet he's missing you." We heard the phone drop and Bree yell out to Esme before everything went silent. Yes, it worked every time. Hopefully Bree took Edward into the forest for some privacy, but even if she didn't they would be thoroughly distracted.

"Jasper, stop using lust as a distraction method," Bella hissed as she hit my shoulder gently, but I could feel her pride so I knew all was good.

"Hello?" Esme questioned confused.

"Is Carlisle with you?" I asked.

"Jasper? How's Bella?" I rolled my eyes, things were never simple.

"Get Carlisle and I'll tell you."

"She didn't die, did she? Randall and Mary were somewhat vague." Seriously?

"Bella is alive. Get Carlisle."

"He's at the hospital." Of course he is. "I'll text him."

"Tell him to run like the wind," Bella spoke and I could feel her impatience.

"Oh, Bella, you are okay," Esme gushed, but I could hear her texting Carlisle so I didn't interrupt her. "You should have told me you were sick, I would have made you some soup."

"Thank you, Esme, but I really don't think soup would have worked," Bella told her kindly.

Come on Carlisle.

"Well, it's the thought that counts," Esme said somewhat tightly. Was this a good idea to tell them over the phone? Yes, my mind screamed at me. We needed the distance in between us.

Come on Carlisle.

Thankfully no one spoke again until Carlisle joined us.

"I'm here. Is Bella okay?"

"I'm fine, Carlisle," Bella reassured him and I could hear his sigh of relief.

"We have something to tell you?" Bella spoke cautiously. I was the one who told Charlie, so I'd let Bella field this one.

"What is it?" Esme asked impatiently, when Bella didn't speak.

Monroe decided right then that he would answer and he made some gurgling sound that only babies could make. I could feel Bella's relief. Oh Monroe, already trying to make him mama feel better.

"What was that?" they asked at the same time and I swear I could feel their confusion and fear.

"Please don't tell me that's what I think it is," Carlisle said in a small voice. "Just because you are a leader of this world doesn't mean you can break the rules."

Geez, slow down. I looked to Bella, but she wasn't speaking.

"We had a child," I said bluntly. Was there really any other way to break this news? "Twins actually. And by had, I mean Bella carried them inside her, they are half human, half vampire."

"What? How?" Carlisle asked confused.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Esme voiced, her hurt washing over me.

Great, here it comes.

"It was need to know, and it wasn't a sure thing," I tried to placate them. "I was busy looking after Bella and we didn't want you to get your hopes up." Did this make any sense? I was just trying to tell them what I thought they wanted to hear. "In our defense," I added, "Monroe and Montana are not even twelve hours old yet and you were our first call." No need to tell them that Charlie and a handful of others already know, no need at all.

"How did this happen?" Carlisle asked again.

"Do I need to tell you about the birds and the bees?" I asked, hoping like hell I didn't. He never answered. "Bella got impregnated during sexual intercourse, just like the norm, and the baby was half human, half vampire. The whole pregnancy only took about four weeks and then here we are. Bella is doing fine, healing up nicely and Monroe and Montana seem to be healthy."

"But how?" Carlisle asked again. By now I realized he was probably in shock.

"Monroe and Montana?" Esme questioned.

"Yeah, a boy and a girl."

"Oh my god, this is so precious. Bella, how are you darling? Congratulations."

"Thank you, Esme. I'm tired, but I'm happy."

"Oh, you must be, don't let us keep you awake. When can we visit, Jasper?"

"Whenever is fine," I answered, "but please don't tell Edward or Bree. We will tell them when the time is right. They're welcome to come and visit as not everyone here knows about the children." Bella let out a yawn. "Look I better go and look after Bella, we'll see you when you come."

I disconnected the call and placed a now sleeping Monroe back into the crib before taking Montana off Bella and snuggling our little girl in between us.

"Well that went well?" Bella stated, though it came out as a question.

"At least it's over and done with now," I reassured her. "Get some sleep. I'll make sure these two don't get into too much mischief while you're out."

"Will I be this tired forever?" Bella questioned me sleepily. "Maybe I can have more venom."

"Shush, rest, Bella." I kissed her on top of the head. "You will heal fully and in time you will be back to your old self," I promised her, and with a small smile she fell asleep.

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><p><strong>AN- **For some reason this chapter ended up being a pain in the ass to write, so I'll end it there.

Check my profile page for the link to the pictures of Monroe and Montana.

Review.


	62. Chapter 62

**A/N- **So fanfiction stuffed up the other day when I posted chapter 61. Sorry to those of you who received several alerts for the same chapter. I think it's fixed now, but if you haven't read the previous chapter, where Bella and Jasper tell Esme and Carlisle about Monroe and Montana, then you're going to want to go back and read that first.

Don't forget there is a link to a picture of what Monroe and Montana look like on my profile page.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"He's a funny one, isn't he?" Charlie said as he held Monroe in his arms. Monroe had his happy juice flowing and it was affecting Charlie. "It figures that your kids would be weird, Jasper."

Hey!

I kept my mouth shut though. We were nearing the end of Bella's hormonal bursts, so I was once again being tactful. I did not want to set her off when we were so close to the end.

I smiled up at him in response. Bella just lay there silently with Montana in her arms. I was standing in between them, arms crossed, just observing everything. I was tired and tense. Who knew that looking after kids was so much work? You had to watch them constantly. I knew I needed a break, but I wasn't going to leave Bella to do this all on her own.

"You know what?" Charlie questioned.

"What?" I replied.

"If you were to tell me a few months ago that Bella would have not one baby, but two... Well, firstly, I would have killed you, Jasper, and second, I would never have believed it. I wouldn't have believed any of this. When Bella first came to me with the idea of ruling the Americas, I thought she was crazy, but I let her run with it because she seemed so determined. Now I see what has happened since then and I just can't imagine it going any other way. I'm really happy for you, Bells. You too, Jasper. And thank you for letting me bring my family with me. You could have so easily cast me from your lives, but you found a way."

"Oh, dad," Bella said tearing up.

"Yeah, Charlie, it's no problem. We'll always put family first and you're a part of our family."

"Thanks, kid." I just love how he called me kid when I was way older than him. Not. But just like his old shovel reference, I knew that he needed this. He needed to believe that he was the oldest and the wisest. He needed to know that his daughter wasn't with someone so old. So I'd let him call me kid.

The door opened and my head shot up, it was only Garrett. I relaxed instantly. It had been two days since the birth and the others would come in every now and then and visit the babies. To my knowledge, Emmett and Leah were still off with Seth, so that only left Kate and Maggie in the house as the only ones who didn't know. I knew I would have to tell Maggie the truth soon. I didn't know much about her gift, but I had a feeling the constant feelings of deceit wouldn't be good for her. At least when she realized why we were all lying she should be able to deal with it better.

Garrett stood by my side and just looked at Bella and Montana. I could tell that he wanted to speak up, but he was unsure. I left him be. He was fighting with himself it seemed and I tried to ignore him. Thankfully his emotions finally settled and he spoke.

"Bella," he started carefully, "I think Montana's merely mimicking you." He rushed the last part out quickly, but Bella caught it. "It's just, she's new to this world. She doesn't know much yet, only what she's observed you doing. She knows you like to keep your shield in place, so she thinks that's what she has to do."

"Oh," Bella suddenly began to realize. I had tried telling her this, but she didn't want to listen. "What can I do?"

"This room is a safe place, wouldn't you agree?" Garrett asked and Bella nodded her head. "Then there is no reason for you to use your shield at all whilst in here. If you drop your shield Montana will see this and she will understand. She will learn that this is a safe place and in turn will drop her shield also."

I could tell that Bella was wondering if it really was that simple. Garrett was right of course. Montana was just doing what her mom was doing. She didn't know any different. Bella dropped her shield instantly, but I knew that she would struggle to keep it dropped always. Ever since James she has felt the need to shield herself, so now it has just become second nature to her. It's hard to convince yourself that you're safe, not after years of feeling completely unsafe. Montana was looking up at Bella and moments later she too dropped her shield.

"Oh, she's so beautiful," Garrett gushed as he moved closer to look at Montana. He hadn't seen her before now.

"You're beautiful too," Charlie grumbled out to Monroe. I guess he didn't want him feeling left out, it was sweet. Charlie was a good granddaddy and I was glad that Bella had him and Sue.

The door opened again and Peter stepped in, but didn't come any closer. He knew that both him and Garrett couldn't be in this room at once. One of them needed to be in the main part of the house at all times to keep up the appearance of power. I quickly walked over to him, he never disobeyed my orders unless he had a good reason.

"You're needed," is all he said and I wanted to hit him so badly, but I wouldn't. I did not want my kids to witness any violence, not this early in life at least.

"Use your words," I tried not to hiss at him. "Put them in sentences and make them make sense."

"Seth, he's on an anger rampage or something. Leah and Emmett can't calm him, he's asking for you."

I let out a sigh, but a part of me was joyous. I finally had something to do outside of this room. Maybe this would be the break I so desperately needed. I nodded my head at Peter and he left the room. I walked back over to Bella.

"Seth needs me," I told Bella. "I must go, but I will send Rose in for you."

"Why does Seth need you?" Bella asked me confused.

Oh, right, she didn't know. Seth began the change just before Bella started labor and I had forgotten to tell her.

"Seth is making the transition into wolf," I told her carefully, hoping that she wouldn't be angry with me. "It happened right before you went into labor due to all the unknown vampires in the house."

"Okay," Bella accepted and that was it. No anger, nothing. I guess she realized this would happen once they moved here. At least one of us had thought about Seth becoming a wolf with the move and I was thankful for that. I had dropped the ball, but Bella hadn't. As long as one of us was on top of the situation we'd be right.

"I'll be back as soon as possible," I promised her before kissing her on the forehead and doing the same with Monroe and Montana.

I left the room and I let out a sigh of relief. I relaxed instantly. Of course I was still worried and I still wanted to be with my family, but I could tell that I needed this break. I went straight for the main room as this was where everyone usually liked to hang out. I spied Rose first and gave a nod of my head, she nodded back. I then saw Maggie and turned my attention to her.

"Maggie, take a run with me." I left no room for argument. I sensed the area around the ranch and headed out the back.

I started running, Maggie hot on my tail. I stopped when we were far enough away from the house and sensed the area around us again, we were completely alone.

"Maggie," I began somewhat nervously. I trusted her, I knew this, but just telling someone who wasn't family about my children was a big deal. "The reason everyone is keeping secrets is because... Bella fell pregnant with my children and now we have twins." Saying it bluntly once again, there was no other way I decided. "I know I don't have to explain to you why we kept this a secret and why we will continue keeping this a secret. If word gets out the penalty will be death. I will not risk my children, but I understand that you needed to know."

"Thank you, Jasper."

I nodded my head. "Excuse me, I have a young shape shifter to attend to."

I took off running, making a wide berth around the ranch, sensing the area for Seth, Leah and Emmett. I finally found them and took off running. They were deep in the mountains. I came upon them and was surprised to see Alistair there as well. He was away from them, just observing. Seth was up in a tree, for whatever reason, completely naked in human form. Leah and Emmett were at the base of the tree trying to coax him into coming down. I didn't stop my pace and just launched myself up into the tree, landing onto the branch next to Seth.

"Jasper, you came." Seth was genuinely surprised.

"Of course I did, brother." I sat down, mirroring his crouch and leaned against the center of the tree. I could feel his awe and love towards me. "Now what's the problem?"

"Leah is trying to teach me all these wolf things, but I don't need to know them. I'm not going to change into a wolf, I can control my anger," he protested.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you're going to change into a wolf, Seth," I told him. "You learn these skills so that if there ever is a time where you need to be in wolf form you know how to handle yourself. It has nothing to do with choice. Trust me when I say it's better to be prepared for any situation. Let's try this. What if we were attacked and your mother was in danger. She's human, she has no way of protecting herself, but you have the gift of the wolf and with that comes great strength and ferociousness. I bet nobody would even want to mess with your mom if you were standing in front of her in full wolf form, but for all this to happen you need to know how to be a wolf. You're lucky, you have a sister who can teach you anything, many superhuman beings don't get that good of a start in this life. So listen to her and take everything she says on board because she knows what she's talking about. Okay, brother?"

"Okay, brother," he cheekily replied.

I jumped out of the tree and joined Emmett and Leah.

"Where's Alice?" I asked Leah. I hadn't heard from her in days and the Cullen's hadn't mentioned her. I just assumed she must be out here with her mate.

"Paris," Leah answered with a snarl. "Whilst she was going through her clothes to bring them here she decided to throw everything out and get some new stuff. I mean, they're just clothes, but whatever makes her happy right?"

"Right," I agreed. Alice and clothes was something I didn't miss. I'm just glad Bella didn't care about any of that stuff.

"How's Bella?" Emmett asked and I could feel his concern and love. "Rosie said she's finally getting better."

"Yeah, she is," I agreed. "It was tough there for awhile, but it seems like she's on the up and up."

"Can I see her when I get back?" he asked and I frowned.

"That's up to Bella and how she's feeling, but not to worry, you will see her soon, Emmett." I didn't know if we could trust him. Emmett was unpredictable and ignoring how he would react to the news, I was more worried about what he would do after the fact, but then again it was like the Cullen's. You didn't want to leave them in the dark for too long or it would create distrust and resentment. But on the other hand, Emmett was a wildcard. Maybe I needed to consult Rose on this matter. "She misses you though," I added hoping to please Emmett and it did. "Are you guys good here?" I asked as I looked at Alistair, he held my gaze before looking away.

"We're good," Seth answered as he jumped from the tree and landed on my back. I could feel Emmett and Leah's fear, even Alistair's, but thankfully I knew that Seth wasn't a threat. I shook him off and stepped away from him.

"Good," I said before leaving them be and heading back towards the ranch. I could feel their shock, but I just ignored it.

As I got back to the house, the Cullen's were just pulling up and I was thankful to see that it was just Carlisle and Esme. No Edward was good. I directed Carlisle to the entrance of the underground garage and waited for them to park. As soon as they got out of the car I could feel their excitement, but also some hesitation from Carlisle. That didn't matter though, as soon as he saw Monroe and Montana he would be putty in their hands. I sent off a quick text message to Garrett so that he could distract Kate whilst I smuggled the Cullen's in. With Kate being Garrett's mate I would have already told her about our kids, but I did not trust that family of hers at all.

Once I received a reply from Garrett, I ushered the Cullen's inside and straight up to my room. I hoped Bella was ready, I didn't have a chance to pre-warn her. I opened up the door and allowed them to enter first. Charlie still had Monroe in his arms and was sitting in a rocking chair, that someone must have assembled whilst I was out. Good, I never wanted to put together another piece of furniture ever again. Bella was still in bed, but she was sitting up and this was a first. I could feel her discomfort at the new position, but it was minimal. Montana was nestled against her chest.

"Oh my goodness," Esme spoke first as she walked closer to Bella. "She is so precious." She hovered above Bella and Montana, whilst Carlisle stepped closer slowly. I think a part of him still believed that Monroe and Montana were immortal children, he'd soon learn though.

"Esme, meet Montana," Bella said as she handed Montana over.

I sent Montana a dose of trust and hoped like hell she didn't put her shield in place. Keeping their gifts a secret for now would be a wise decision.

"Here," I said as I grabbed Monroe from Charlie." No funny business," I whispered to my son so only he could hear. I hoped that he would understand, but furthermore I hoped that he would obey. "Carlisle, meet Monroe, my son." I handed my boy over and as soon as he settled in Carlisle's arms his emotions began to change.

I kept a close eye on him, but they soon settled down. He was feeling disbelief, amazement, pride and love.

"He's yours?" Carlisle asked.

"Yeah," I answered as I looked at Monroe, he was behaving for now, but he still had his silly smile in place.

"He looks exactly like you," Carlisle spoke, " he just has a different color hair."

He did? I looked at Monroe, I couldn't see it. I guess we'd see when he grew.

Esme walked over to us so that she could see Monroe and Carlisle could see Montana.

"They're so beautiful," Esme cooed, looking at both of them. "They're so perfect."

"How did this happen?" Carlisle asked, but I noticed now that he was simply wondering.

"I'll tell you later," I promised him. "Just enjoy Monroe and Montana for the moment."

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><p><strong>AN- **Another chapter done. I should probably start working out when I'm going to end this story.

I keep forgetting to mention this, but you can read the first three chapters of my first novel on my FictionPress account **DC Nixon**, so essentially you can read the start before you grab yourself a copy. All info is on my profile page, but any support you can give me would be fantastic.

Review.


	63. Chapter 63

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing.

This chapter is short. I don't know what's happening, I'm either sick or I've lost all inspiration for this story, either way I think I'll start wrapping this story up.

With that being said, I will most likely be starting a kickass AH Bella/Jasper story next. More to come on that story when we get closer to the end of this one.

Thanks for sticking with me this long.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

I watched on amazed as my one week old son was crawling. I literally blinked this past week and now he was crawling and trying to vocalize his words and his sister was right behind him. It was simply amazing to watch.

"Monroe," I said and he stopped crawling and looked over his shoulder at me, "get back here." I knew he understood me completely, he was just having trouble forming the words to reply. He smiled his silly smile at me before facing forward and crawling once again. "Hey," I said, using vampire speed to appear right in front of him. I picked him up by his leg and dangled him in front of my face. "Little Mister, you need to listen to me, I'm you daddy."

"Dada?" Monroe asked, still hanging upside down. He spoke, he actually spoke. Bella was going to be mad that she missed this. She had finally healed enough that she was out of this room and in the main part of the house.

"Yes, dada."

"Jaspurrr?" he questioned and I don't know how he managed it, but he cocked his eyebrow when he asked me this.

"Yes, my name is Jasper, just like yours is Monroe, but to you I am dad and you're my son. Do you understand?" Monroe nodded his head yes. "Good boy."

"Mon-Monty's," Monroe screwed up his face, the words were clearly still not connecting from his brain to his mouth just yet. "She smart. She..." Monroe let out a frustrated growl. He was still hanging upside down, maybe I should right him. "She teach Mama."

"What?" I questioned him confused.

"Monty teach Mama," he said simply.

He called Montana, Monty? Well that was cute. I finally righted my son and held him out in front of me.

"What do you mean that Montana's teaching Mama?"

"Dada," he began before stopping, another frown gracing his face. He reached out and pointed at me, "not smart," he accused and now it was my turn to frown. My son was calling me stupid?

I thought about what he was saying. Montana was teaching Bella, teaching her what? And then it hit me. Montana didn't have an issue with her shield, she was simply teaching Bella what it was like to have a shield in place all the time. Right?

"Are you saying that Montana has full control over her shield?" I asked my son, loving that he could now answer me.

He nodded his head happily. "We both."

What? This was beyond confusing. How long until he talked normally?

"You have control over your gift too?" I questioned hoping that I was right. He nodded his head. "What is your gift exactly?"

"I feel," he started, "you feel."

"But you always feel happy?" Monroe didn't answer me he just smiled at me dopily. My silly boy. "Okay then, smarty pants, make me feel something other than happiness."

His face screwed up in concentration before smoothing out. I could feel his love and not long later it forced itself onto me and there was nothing I could do about it.

"So whatever you feel we feel? Can you not affect us? Turn it off at times?"

"Yes," he answered, "but... why would I?"

Why would he? My smart boy. I shook my head at him. I bet there would be no telling him what to do as he grew up.

"Monty's awake," Monroe announced and I walked us over to the crib which was beginning to be too small for the both of them. They were growing like weeds.

I looked down and saw my daughter smiling up at me.

"What about you?" I asked her. "Your brother thinks he's so smart crawling all over the place and talking. Can you talk yet?"

She got herself onto her knees before grabbing the side of the crib and pulling herself into a standing position, coming up to my lower chest. She titled her head back and looked me in the eyes.

"I'm the smart one, Dad," she informed me with a smirk.

Oh. I was so screwed. Since when did Montana have full control over her body movements and speech. This was news to me. And she was smart enough to apparently be teaching her mother a lesson?

"Well then you need to stop playing with your mother, it's not fair," I informed her.

"She still has fear, but she will learn through us," Montana countered.

"How do you know all this?" I asked.

"I'm smart," Montana deadpanned with a smile. "Plus we heard everything in the womb, all the stories you told. She will learn to trust fully again and you will learn to let go and relax."

Would I now? She seemed so confident that I had no choice, but to believe her.

The door opened and Bella made her way back into the room. I turned my attention back to Montana who was now lying back down, her mouth firmly closed. I gave her a warning stare. I didn't care if she was teaching her mother a lesson, she should not be hiding her progress whilst doing it.

"I forgot how taxing it is out there," Bella said as she collapsed on the couch. She was officially sick of the bed.

"Go see Mama and show her what you can do," I told Monroe as I sat him on the ground and he took off crawling. I grabbed Montana out of the crib and made my way over to Bella. Monroe was using his vampire speed and was at his mother before we even sat down.

"Look at you, my boy," Bella gushed as she bent down and picked Monroe up. "You're getting so good at crawling."

"Show her what else you learned to do," I prompted as I rocked Montana in my arms.

I watched as Monroe stared at Bella and Bella stared back at Monroe. Monroe opened his mouth and then closed it.

"Love Mama," he managed to say and it was so precious.

I looked up at Bella and she had tears in her eyes. I put my arm around her and pulled her closer to me.

"Our boy is so smart," I told her, hoping that Montana would feel left out and speak up, she didn't. Her morals must be so strong. At least she no longer kept her shield in place.

"He can talk?" Bella was still shocked. "You can talk, Monroe?"

"Yes, Mama."

"Oh, that's so sweet." Bella was so happy.

"Monroe, tell Mama what you call Montana." I smiled at him. The cuteness of this would surely kill Bella.

"Monty," he answered with his silly smile in place, and I was right, Bella began crying again. "Happy, Mama," Monroe said before he coated Bella in his happy juice, she was helpless to resist, just like me.

"Oh, baby, I love you so much," Bella told him before peppering him with kisses.

"Do you want to say anything, Montana," I prompted her, hoping that she would. She was feeling thoughtful and I could tell that she was considering it.

"Hi," Montana finally settled on and I was so happy.

"Oh, my other baby." Bella reached out and I handed her Montana. She was now holding both our children on her lap, just staring at them. "We love you both so much," Bella told them and they both smiled.

"It's true," I agreed. It was odd just how perfect they made our life be, so complete.

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><p><strong>AN- **This chapter is super short, I know, but I just wanted to update you guys on the situation.

Seeing as I'm wrapping this story up let me know some of the things you want to read before it ends.

Review.


	64. Chapter 64

**A/N- **Okay, I'm back. After sickness, a heat wave, local devastating bushfires, and more sickness. I'm back. Good news is that this story has probably 10 to 15 chapters to go :) Plus I'm gonna get started on a brand new Bella/Jasper fic very soon.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

Bella and I just stepped out of our office. We had been working solidly for an hour to strengthen our laws and hierarchy, plus we wanted to show the others now that Bella was well things were getting back to normal. Zafrina and her sisters had decided to take their leave as they were no longer needed. It was sad to see them go, but I could understand that they didn't like to be this tied down. And Alice was finally back.

"Bella, Jasper, sit down with us." Alice's excitement washed over me. She had only just gotten back from her two week shopping vacation today. Leah was so angry at her, but as soon as she was reunited with her mate all the anger disappeared.

"Of course," Bella smiled at her and we sat down across from them. Rose and Peter were currently looking after Monroe and Montana, who had recently become more than a handful. It was now two and a half weeks since the birth and I estimated that they were just over one year old, which meant that they were walking and talking now. They were growing up way too fast, but it was a good thing. The older they got, the easier things would become.

"Tell me about this sickness, Bella? You're all better now?" Alice inquired and I put my arm around my mate.

"It was tough, but I made it through," Bella vaguely responded. We were still trying to work out the best time to let Alice, Emmett, Edward, Bree, Kate, and the Clearwater children in on our little secret. Bella wanted to do it now, but I wanted to wait until our children were a little older first. I'm sure it would come down to a compromise.

"Why didn't you just change her?" Leah asked. Alice was firmly seated in her lap and Leah had her long arms around her. It was so nice to see, and they were both feeling so happy and content. I was so happy for them both.

"Bella didn't want to be changed yet," I answered honestly.

"When will you be changed?" Leah asked. "You cannot stay human forever."

"Maybe in a few years," Bella answered. "As long as the vampire venom in my system doesn't get to me first. I would like to be closer in age to Jasper if possible, not forever stuck as a sixteen year old."

Leah let out a grunt in agreement.

"I spoke to Carlisle and Esme and they said they wanted to move into the ranch, but they're waiting for your okay of course. Something about that you need to tell them the right time or something. They kind of lost me there."

"Edward's still an issue," I told Alice, without giving too much away. "Bella and I will discuss it and get back to them soon."

I could feel Alice's distrust, but thankfully she just brushed it off. We were safe for now, but not for much longer. Maybe once everyone at the ranch knew of the twins things would be easier. I didn't know.

"Jasper," Seth beamed as he came into the room and stood in front of me. "Guess what I did today?"

"I don't know," I answered, smiling at him. His emotions were somewhat like Monroe's, completely positive, and I always allowed them to affect me.

"I got Emmett to make me angry and then I stopped mid phase and stayed human, it was so awesome."

"Wow, that's impressive." And it was. Seth was still a pup, yet he was working hard to master everything he could as quickly as he could. I sent him my pride.

"I know right, soon I won't be a pup anymore." He was so excited, probably because that's all his sister would refer to him as. The Clearwater siblings bickered a lot, I had never taken note of these things before, but now that I had kids of my own I was wondering if Monroe and Montana would fight as well. I hoped not because I had no doubt that they would both resort to using their gifts against each other and we did not want that to start at all.

"So how's being a wolf treating you?" Bella asked her new step-brother.

"Awesome. I'm so much stronger and faster, it's great."

"And you don't mind being around vampires?" Bella asked him concerned, "because I don't want it to be hard for you, Seth."

"No, I like vampires," Seth said excitedly and he was telling the truth. I don't know how, we were supposed to be his mortal enemy. Even his sister had problems being around any of us, except for Alice, but she was good at not letting it show. Perhaps Seth just had a higher tolerance for us. Who knew.

"Can we talk to you for a minute?" Peter and Charlotte appeared in the room. I briefly wondered who was helping Rose with the twins, but I knew that Peter would never leave his post unless he got someone to relieve him.

"Of course," I stood up and helped Bella up too. We walked into our office and all sat down. This reminded me of our talk not too long ago and I wondered why they wanted to see us. I waited for them to begin.

"It's been very busy lately," Charlotte spoke up. "What with the pregnancy and the birth. We just wanted to say congratulations and that we will always be your family, no matter what."

"Thank you," Bella accepted, "but that was not needed. We know you will always be with us and we wouldn't want it any other way. You've always been a part of Jasper's family and although it's grown there's still a place for both of you in it."

"Thank you," Charlotte accepted for the both of them.

Well that was odd.

We left our office and I hated how our relationship still wasn't back to normal. I knew trying to kill your family wasn't easily fixed and that it would take time, but it just sucked. I wanted things to go back to normal between Peter, Charlotte and I, but it could never be that simple. I let out a sigh as Bella and I made our way back to our room. She wrapped her arm around me and pulled me closer. She knew just how much it got to me, but she knew that there was nothing she could do about it. We made it back to our room and I opened up the door. I could feel my kids' excitement, but they stayed quiet until the door clicked into place. They were learning slowly.

"Daddy!" Montana let out a squeal before using her vampire speed to launch herself into my arms. "You're back."

"Of course, my angel," I told her as I kissed her on the forehead.

"I missed you," she told me as she reached out and placed her hand on Bella's shoulder including her in the conversation.

"We were only gone just over an hour," I informed her.

"I know, but every time you leave, even for a moment, I miss you."

Awe, my sweet, precious little girl.

"I love you, always," I told her, hugging her tightly before setting her down.

"I love both of you," she told us, her hands clasped firmly behind her back. Cheeky, just like her brother. Where was her brother?

Bella picked Montana up and I looked around the room. He was on the couch, snuggled up to Rose's side and she was reading him a book. It sounded like William Shakespeare. Great, sooner than expected he would become a little Romeo.

"Monroe, what are you doing?" I asked him in mock anger, but he saw right through me, he always did.

"Aunty Rose is reading to me," he answered smiling. "To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis noble to take an arrow to the knee, no one knows. The knee-ake, but to be, or not to be? That is the question."

"What?" I accidentally spoke out loud. Emmett was always talking about taking an arrow to the knee, how did my son already know this?

"He's very liberal with his poems," Rose answered with a smile.

"Have you read him Romeo and Juliet?" I asked and Rose shook her head. "Please don't."

"Why?" Monroe asked me, eyes wide. "It is just like Jack and Rose. It ends in tragedy."

Jack and Rose? Oh no, please say no.

"Who showed him Titanic?" I asked and no one answered.

"Monroe," I said seriously. "Where are you getting all of your information? You're learning too quickly."

"Dad," he started and I could feel his reluctance and deceit. He didn't want to lie to me I gathered, so he kept his mouth shut. I saw him glance over at his sister and he had given too much away.

"Montana, here, now," I told her and she complied. Of course she was behind it and suddenly it clicked into place. "Hand it over," I said as I held out my hand. She put something in my hand, but it was completely invisible. "Garrett, come here," I told him and he walked over, he was feeling confused. "Here is your phone you lost a few days ago," I informed him as I handed him the invisible object. "Please be wary of where you leave all of your devices as Bella and I do not want our children learning these things too fast."

I could feel that Garrett got my point and he walked over to Montana.

"Monty," he spoke as he got down on one knee. "Can you un-shield my phone please?"

"Okay, Gary," she easily accepted and not a second later his phone was visible once again.

Garrett left the room straight after. I knew it wasn't entirely his fault that the kids swiped his phone, but then again he should have known better.

"Montana, on the couch next to your brother," I prompted her and she quickly followed my orders. They were both sitting on the couch with Rose in between them. They loved Rose unconditionally and they knew she would protect them, not that she would ever need to. "Children," I began as I sat down on the coffee table in front of them and Bella sat down next to me. "You are growing fast, you know this." They nodded their heads yes, but stayed silent. "There will come a time when you will have access to a device like Garrett's which will allow you to access any information that you desire, but now is not that time. You only have so much time to be a kid and that is what you're going to be."

"Your dad and I have decided," Bella began and they turned their attention to her, "that when you turn one year old, in human years, you will be allowed to do as you wish. You will still need our permission until you turn seventeen, but you will be allowed to leave this room, you will be allowed to interact with who you want without being chaperoned, and you will be allowed to access whatever information that is available to you.."

"It's one year, that's all we ask," I told them. "Your mother and I know that you're growing rapidly, but there will be a time to learn everything and anything... All we ask is that you be a kid, just for this year, then you can decide for yourselves."

"Do you understand any of this?" Bella asked them.

Monroe frowned, but Montana answered.

"Yes," Montana said proudly. "One year, when we have a whole eternity, is nothing. We need to be young whilst we're young because there will come a day where we're fully grown and then it won't be acceptable anymore."

"Unless you're Emmett," Rose spoke under her breath, but of course the twins heard her.

"Who's Emmett?" Monroe asked.

"Her husband," Montana answered.

Montana knew about Emmett? How? My girl was way too smart and aware for her own good.

"Yes, he is my husband," Rose answered.

"Why haven't we met him?" Monroe asked confused.

"Because Daddy's afraid," Montana answered her brother once again. I guess she liked to be the smart one.

"Why are you afraid, Daddy?" Monroe asked me innocently. Didn't he know that it wasn't that simple. Bella and Rose were wisely staying quiet.

"Monroe, it's just... Emmett... Well, he is unpredictable and he can be childish at times."

"I'm a child, you just said that we had to hold onto that. Emmett is like us, so why can't we meet him?"

"It's not that simple," Montana told her brother. She did not seem interested in this at all.

"Why?" Monroe asked. Ah, that dreaded question pops up once again.

"Just think about it," Montana spoke to me. I guess it was now my time to get lectured. "Just really think about it, Dad. I mean, why not right?"

Why not? Why not... Why hadn't I? I knew Emmett would never harm them. Why was I so afraid? If anything he would most likely be a benefit. He would teach them how to be a kid and that it's okay to be a kid, but there was still something there. I was still afraid.

"Daddy," Monroe and Montana said as they stood up and stood directly in front of me.

"It's okay to be afraid," Montana said as she rested her hand on my cheek.

"But you can't always be afraid," Monroe finished off as he too put his hand on my cheek.

I looked into their eyes. They were so convincing when they worked as one and they were completely right. I wouldn't be able to keep them from Emmett forever. I needed to just bite the bullet. I couldn't deny them, not when they wanted to meet their Aunt's husband.

"Soon," I promised them. "You can meet him soon."

They smiled so brightly. "Okay," they easily accepted. I couldn't understand how they knew me so well already.

Monroe snuggled back into Rose's side and Montana walked away to be by herself.

I could feel Monroe's mischievousness, so I turned my attention back to him.

"A Rose by any other name would never be as sweet as you," Monroe said as he looked up at his Aunt Rose.

Oh God.

"Rose," I hissed out.

"So maybe we did read Romeo and Juliet already," she admitted before bringing the book up to cover her face.

"Monroe, cool it," I told him. I did not need to worry about him with girls already.

"Jasper," Bella said to me, "if this is how Monroe is already with him being so young, then we need to allow him to be like that. It's just him."

Great, just great. A little Romeo, at least he was sweet. I had yet to get a negative emotion from him. I guess Bella found it cute. I was just glad that everyone here was in a relationship, everyone except Maggie. I would have to make sure to keep Monroe as far away from Maggie as I could.

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><p><strong>AN- **These kids are killing me with their sweetness and there's a lot more to come.

Remember that you can grab a copy of my first novel for free, info on my profile page. And if you've already grabbed a copy and read it, if you liked it could you please leave a review for me on the website where you purchased it from (smashwords). It would mean so much to me and help my book out so much.

Emmett will be told about the twins in the next chapter.

Review and I'll try to update as soon as possible.


	65. Chapter 65

**A/N- **Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are awesome.

Sorry for the wait, I was on holidays.

I finished the first chapter of my new B/J story and I'm really liking it so far. I won't post it until we're closer to the end of this one though.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

It was time. Bella and I were set to tell everyone about the twins, everyone but Kate. I still didn't think I could trust her. I knew she was Garrett's mate, but I did not trust her or her family. So I was playing it safe. Garrett had taken her away to visit her family, so this worked out good. I looked up at the couch. Seth was on the end, Leah sitting next to him, Alice next to her, and on the other end was Emmett. I was still unsure on how Emmett would react. I took a deep breath. It had been decided that I would tell them. I sensed the area around us and couldn't feel anyone else in the vicinity.

"Bella was sick," I started out. "You all know that, but that wasn't the whole truth. The truth is that Bella fell pregnant with my child." I paused, everyone paused, and then a lot of things happened at once.

First to react was Emmett and he took off running. He was so fast that within a second he was out of my range. I didn't even have time to worry about him because Alice let out a squeal and hugged me tightly before fussing over Bella. Leah and Seth just sat there smiling widely.

"That means Mom and Charlie's kid will have another kid to play with," Seth spoke out of turn it seemed because Leah hushed him.

Charlie and Sue? Did that mean that Sue was pregnant? Not something that we needed right now, but I now knew that we could deal with it. I knew Charlie would be a great dad and I was glad he was getting another chance.

"Sue's pregnant?" Bella asked and Leah nodded her head.

"They were trying to keep it a surprise," she informed us before glaring at her brother.

"Where's your kid? Is it a boy or a girl? I want to meet it," Alice said excitedly and I swear it was the most excited I had ever seen her, which was weird.

"Come and see," I told them all.

Bella and I led the way, with Seth, Leah, and Alice following us.

I opened up the door and allowed everyone to enter first. Rose had a hold of a sleeping Monroe and Montana was playing by herself next to them.

"Everyone," I spoke quietly. "I would like you to meet my son, Monroe, and my daughter, Montana." I couldn't keep the pride out of my voice.

Montana stopped what she was doing and stood up. Alice gasped in shock. Once Montana approached us Bella spoke up.

"The twins are half vampire, half human and they are growing rapidly," she told everyone and I could feel her pride.

Montana came over to me and looked up at me. "Daddy?" she asked as she held out her arms to be picked up. I didn't hesitate. I picked her up and cradled her against my hip.

"Montana, this is your Aunt Alice and your Aunt Leah, and that's your Uncle Seth."

She looked at them all before frowning.

"Where's Uncle Emmett?" she asked me and it was my turn to frown. Where _did_ Emmett go?

"I'm not sure, sweetie."

"But you told him right, Dad?" she asked, her voice rising enough to wake her little brother up.

"Of course, sweetheart," I promised her.

"What's going on?" Monroe asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. His attention quickly turned to everyone in the room and his excitement grew. It affected us all. He turned his attention to Rose. "Which one's Emmett?" he asked excitedly.

"Emmett's not here," Montana answered before jumping out of my arms and landing next to her brother.

"Wow," Seth exclaimed. "They're like mini vampires. So cool."

"Yes," I agreed, "and that's why they must be kept a secret until they are fully grown." I could feel everyone's understanding and acceptance, good.

"I guess they're not going to be growing up with Dad and Sue's kid then," Leah spoke sadly.

"Sue's having a baby?" Montana asked and Bella confirmed it. "Yes! I knew it! Pay up, Roey."

"That's not my name," Monroe huffed before grabbing something out of his pocket. Were they gambling already?

I jumped forward and grabbed whatever was in his hand before he could give it to his sister. I looked at the item and it was three vials of blood. What the hell was going on here? I could feel my anger and I allowed it to be projected to my kids. Montana cowered back, but Monroe was still feeling happy, I wouldn't allow it to affect me though.

"What is going on?" I demanded. "What is this?"

"Blood," Monroe answered, clearly not realizing how serious I was right now.

"I know that, son, don't be smart with me. Explain what is going on right now."

"Monty said Sue was pregnant, I said she wasn't. She suggested we make a bet. The loser had to give up three vials of the others favorite blood. I lost, Monty gets the O negative."

"Gambling isn't for fun, no more. Do you understand?" I asked them, but they didn't answer. "No blood for two days," I told them and that got their attention. "You will have human food only."

"But, Daddy, I'm sorry," Monroe spoke up, but it was too little, too late. I would not succumb to him, not this time.

"I've made my decision," I reiterated seriously. Montana was wisely staying quiet.

"But Jazz," Alice spoke and I inwardly frowned. We had a newbie with us. There was no way Alice would be able to resist my boy's charm. "You gamble all the time." I tried to get her to back off, but she didn't seem to be on the same wavelength as me anymore. "I mean, a few months back you bet us five thousand dollars as to whether or not we could guess the emotion you gave us."

"Which you still haven't paid," Rose decided to butt in.

"Yes, but that was for an important reason. This was over something inconsequential."

"Important, what made that important?" Alice questioned me.

"Here, do you want to hold a kid?" I asked her, grabbing the closest one, Monroe, and thrusting him at Alice. I did not want to get into this right now.

"Aunty Alice?" Monroe questioned, opening up his big blue eyes and staring at her. Alice grabbed him immediately. She was under his spell, good. "Take this kiss upon the brow, And in parting from you now, Thus much let me avow - You are not wrong who deem, That my days have been a dream; Yet if hope has flown away. In a night or in a day, In a vision or in none, Is it therefore the less gone? All that we see or seem, Is but a dream within a dream."

Oh great, now he was quoting Edgar Allan Poe's, A Dream within a Dream.

"Oh boy, you're so smart," Alice gushed.

"I'm smarter and older," Montana chimed in.

"Only be a few minutes," Monroe countered, sticking out his tongue.

Crisis averted… Almost.

"Why was it so important?" Rose asked me, brow furrowed.

"Just drop it," I replied.

"What was it about?" Bella asked me and I let out a sigh.

"That day I touched you in the hallway." I turned my attention to my mate. "The first day I felt something from you. I set up this fake bet, so that I could get some help figuring out just what you felt. I sent the emotion to Alice and she identified it the best that she could. Later that day it dawned on me. I had felt that emotion before, and for myself. When I was with Maria, it's what I felt towards her."

Bella rested her hand on my cheek and sent me all her love.

"We don't need to look back," she promised me, "not anymore."

I agreed. The past was in the past and that's where it would stay. I kissed her palm before taking it in my own and holding it tightly. I was so lucky to have found Bella.

"I remember that now," Bella spoke. "I remember hearing the most beautiful sound ever." Rose's laughter no doubt. "Normally I wouldn't have cared, but it was just so angelic. I looked up for the first time in so long and there it was, clear as day, an angel." Bella took a pause and focused solely on Rose. "You were so beautiful in that moment, Rose. You were so carefree, so happy. I have yet to see that from you again and that doesn't change things, but just know that I thought you were an angel that day and that thought has never wavered, not for me."

"Bella, please," Rose began tearing up. "You don't need to say that."

"I know," Bella agreed. "It's just the truth. It's just how I see you."

Next thing I know they are hugging each other tightly. Only my mate could make one, well two of the toughest vampires I know turn into complete saps.

My phone rang and I stepped aside to answer it.

"Carlisle," I spoke.

"Yes, Jasper, hi, how are you?" Carlisle rambled.

"I'm good. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was just wondering, if, umm…" Come on Carlisle, find your words. "You see, we're all packed and Esme's itching to see her grandkids again, but we're waiting for your okay that we can move in. So, can we, move in?"

Wow, that was the most flustered I had seen ever seen Carlisle. I decided to put him out of his misery as quick as possible.

"Sure, Carlisle, you can move in."

"Great, thank you, Jasper. What about Bree and Edward, can they move in too?" He was back to being flustered.

"Sure, Carlisle, they are a part of the family after all."

"Good, good, thank you, Jasper. We'll see you soon."

"Okay." I hung up the phone before he could ramble on any further.

"What was that?" Bella asked me.

"I'm not sure," I answered, staring at my phone. That was so un-Carlisle. "But the rest of the Cullen's are moving in."

"Really? When?" Bella's excitement hit me.

"Less than a day I assume, they're already packed," I informed her.

My head shot up. I could feel Emmett's emotional makeup in the distance and he was approaching us quickly. I barely had time to step away from the door, pulling Bella with me, before he burst in through it. It took him two tries. I couldn't understand how he even made it through the door. Peter had said it was impenetrable. I quickly grabbed out my phone, sending a message to Peter that we needed the door fixed as soon as possible. I hit send and turned my attention to Emmett, who was now standing in the front of the broken door.

"Emmy," Montana squealed before running off towards her uncle. She was so excited, as was Emmett.

"Ruff." What was that noise? It was so quiet. Emmett moved his jacket and pulled out a puppy dog. "Ruff! Ruff!"

The dog could now be heard by everyone. Oh no, what had he done. A puppy, really? This was not good.

"A puppy?" Monroe questioned at the sound of it, his head shooting up. "A puppy!" he said more firmly before leaping out of Alice's arms and straight onto Emmett's back. "I want the puppy."

Oh, Emmett. Can I kill him yet?

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><p><strong>AN- **The next chapter will follow straight off this one.

Edward and Bree's storyline will also be revealed/wrapping up next chapter… Any last guesses?

Review.


	66. Chapter 66

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing and a big thank you to all of those who review every single chapter, you guys are the best.

No one guessed the ending to Bree and Edward's situation, so I have a good feeling I will end up surprising you all. It's actually somewhat more of a surprise than the whole Montana thing, haha, and I've been dropping hints for ages.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"_Emmy," Montana squealed before running off towards her uncle. She was so excited, as was Emmett._

"_Ruff." What was that noise? It was so quiet. Emmett moved his jacket and pulled out a puppy dog. "Ruff! Ruff!" _

_The dog could now be heard by everyone. Oh no, what had he done. A puppy, really? This was not good._

"_A puppy?" Monroe questioned at the sound of it, his head shooting up. "A puppy!" he said more firmly before leaping out of Alice's arms and straight onto Emmett's back. "I want the puppy."_

_Oh, Emmett. Can I kill him yet?_

"Puppy, puppy, puppy," Monroe chanted as he dangled himself over Emmett's shoulder to get a closer look at the dog.

"Emmett Joseph McCarty," I hissed at him and he froze. A second later he got enough sense to put the puppy down on the ground. Monroe was off his back in an instance, the puppy now in his arms. Emmett stood slowly and turned to face me. He knew he was in trouble.

Where do I even start?

"Why did you get a dog?" I asked him, keeping my voice as calm as I was able.

"I don't know," he faltered. "It was an impulse buy. Plus kids and puppies go together."

"We are vampires," I reminded him.

"I know this," he argued back. He was gaining confidence and losing fear. "I spent ages looking for the one dog who wasn't scared of me."

"And this mutt isn't?" I questioned.

"No, and it's not a mutt. It's a Siberian Husky and its name is Wolf."

"Wolf? You've got to be kidding me. You get a dog that is called Wolf and looks like a wolf? We already have two wolves here."

"Exactly, it will fit right in."

"We have wolves here already?" Monroe asked excitedly as he put Wolf down on the ground. Wolf didn't even have enough time to get his bearings before Montana picked him up, well I'm assuming Wolf was a boy.

"I'm a wolf," Seth told his nephew.

"Wow, Uncle Seth is a wolf?" he asked and Seth nodded his head. "Coolest uncle ever."

"Hey," Emmett quickly protested. "I bought you a dog, a wolf even, I should be your favorite uncle."

"But Uncle Seth is a wolf," Monroe tried to explain.

"Welcome to the world of kids," Bella told Emmett, "No matter what you do there's always something or someone else doing it better."

"But I got them a wolf. Rosie, why don't they like me?"

"They do like you, Em, they like you for who you are, not because you got them a puppy."

"Maybe I'll just take it back then," Emmett sighed out loud and I knew he was joking, so did the twins. Monroe could pick up on his emotions and Montana was just too smart not to know, but they could see he was upset and played along anyway.

"No, Emmy, please don't," Montana said as she snuggled the dog tighter. "I love Wolf and I love you."

"Yeah," Monroe agreed. "Thank you for getting us a puppy."

"Okay," Emmett accepted and I could feel a glint of mischievousness coming from him. "But it's really up to your dad, kids." Oh no, he didn't. "And I don't think the Jazz-Man wants a puppy dog to live here with all these dangerous and hungry vampires."

"But, Dad!" Monroe whined, clearly not processing Emmett's emotions this time around and just reacting on instinct. "Seth's a wolf and you allow him to live here."

Well played, son. I could never argue with that.

"Okay, the dog can stay, but I'm not looking after it. That can be your job, Emmett." He let out a groan, but it was only fair. "Now let's clear the room, there are way too many people in here." Everyone began protesting. "The twins can decide on one person each to stay."

Monroe and Montana walked over to each other and began whispering back and forth. They thought we couldn't hear them, but we could. It was cute.

"I want Seth," Monroe declared.

"Me too," Montana agreed. "What about Emmy? He got us a dog."

"I like Emmy, but we haven't spent too much time with Aunt Alice and Leah either."

"I've got it," Montana announced before pulling away from her brother. "We want Leah and Emmett to stay."

I looked at her confused, how did that solve anything?

"Okay," I accepted. "Everyone else out."

"Dad," Montana spoke up and I looked at her. "Because Leah's staying with us I think her mate and brother should stay as well, you know, for Leah, just in case."

Just in case of what? I decided to let it slide. She was being tactical and I admired that.

"Okay. Rose you stay too to keep an eye on things."

Bella and I left the room. We knew that Rose would protect our kids, plus it was kind of good to get a break with Bella. Usually one of us always stayed in the room, or we were busy doing work, but this time we could just relax.

"Let's find Sue," Bella said. "I want to tell her congratulations for the baby."

I agreed and we walked down the hallway to their end of the house. I noticed that both Sue and Charlie liked to spend the majority of their time in their apartment, away from the others. At first I was concerned that they weren't happy here, but I soon realized that they were in the honeymoon phase of their relationship and they just enjoyed each other's company.

I knocked on their door and waited for them to answer. I soon realized that this would be Bella's first time in their apartment and I briefly wondered how she would react to having her own room in her father's apartment, a room which she could use to escape me.

Sue answered the door and Bella brought her into a hug.

"Oh, Sue, I'm so happy for you," Bella gushed. Sue was confused at first but she quickly cottoned on.

"Oh, Bella, you have no idea how much you saying that means to me. I didn't want you to think that your dad or I were replacing you. We didn't really plan for this to happen, but it did and we're so happy about it."

"No, it's good, great actually," Bella reassured Sue.

"And Jasper?" Sue asked pulling out of the hug. "Will having a baby at the ranch complicate things? Because it's not too late to, you know-"

"Nonsense," I told Sue, cutting her off right there. There was no way she was terminating this baby just because of our situation. "It's fine. Worst case scenario you get a place in a nearby city, but truthfully this is probably the safest place for you and your family."

"Oh, thank you, Jasper." Now it was my turn to get hugged. "Come in," Sue motioned for us to enter and we did. "Charlie, we have visitors," Sue called out in warning and I didn't want to know why she felt the need to warn him.

"You go ahead," I told Sue. "I want to show Bella something and we'll meet you in the living room."

Sue nodded her head and left us be.

"Show me what?" Bella asked confused.

"Charlie is your dad and I know this," I told her as I continued down the hall and stopped in front of the door to her bedroom.

"Jasper, what's going on?" Bella's confusion could be clearly felt.

"This is your room," I told Bella as I opened the door. "I know I can be an ass at times and I also know that you need your dad, your family. So this is your room to use whenever you want a break from me."

"Jasper," Bella began, trying to keep her voice calm, but I could feel her anger threatening to boil over. "I will never need this room. My life, and my family is with you now."

"I know," I agreed. "But just in case, you have this room."

"I don't need a just in case," Bella told me, her voice rising. "How can you not see that being by your side is the only place for me? You are an empath after all." I was going to speak, but she held up her hand. "I love you, Jasper Rye Whitlock." Rye? Who had told her that? Rose I guess, just great. "And I will always love you. You may frown upon this, you may deem it untraditional, but, Jasper Rye Whitlock, will you spend eternity with me? Will you become my husband and oh so much more?"

I just stood there, mouth agape. To me, we were already mated. We were to spend eternity together whether or not we wanted to. It had already been decided, but marriage? I had been fake married to Alice and I only did it because she wanted it, but now, with Bella? I couldn't understand it, but it made me so happy. I found that I wanted to call her my wife more than anything. Bella was standing in front of me and her nerves were growing. Right, I needed to speak.

"It would be my honor," I told her before bringing her into my arms and kissing her with as much passion as I had. She had to use her shield to push me away because I wasn't letting go of her willingly.

I went to lean in again, but my phone beeped. I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Carlisle, they were here. How was that even possible? They must have had one foot out the door when they asked if they could come. As soon as I read it, I crushed my phone in my hand before leaning in to Bella again. She denied me and pulled away.

"What was that, Major?" she asked me and I frowned. It didn't take long to click. The Major had crushed my phone when we were stuck in the bathroom block during the mudslide.

"The Cullen's are here," I told her, trying to lean in once again.

"Ooh, let's go meet them," Bella said excitedly and that just frustrated me more. "And we get to tell Bree and Edward about the twins."

Did we really have to?

"Why?" I countered. "They don't need to know."

"Jasper, they do," Bella said with finality. I let her pull me out of Sue and Charlie's apartment and towards the main room.

They really didn't need to know, but I guess it was better to get this over and done with. I had no idea how Edward would react, but I guess we'd soon find out. We walked into the main room and they were already there.

"Oh, Bella, it's so good to see you again. How is everything?" Esme spoke and Bella brought her into a hug.

"Let's get this over and done with," I told them and I could feel Edward and Bree's confusion.

"Are you just going to tell them?" Bella asked me.

"No, I think showing them is the only way for this to go smoothly."

"For what to go smoothly?" Edward asked me, he was so confused.

"Don't stress, Edward," Bree told her mate as she wrapped her arm around him. I could see Edward relax instantly. I was so glad that they seemed to be doing better with their whole relationship.

"Come with us," I told them as I stepped out of the room.

"Yeah," Bella agreed. "We've got a surprise to show you."

"A surprise?" Bree asked, excitement overtaking her.

"Yes, a surprise," Esme agreed, also excited.

"You already know?" Edward asked as he turned and faced Carlisle and Esme.

"Yes, Son," Carlisle told him with authority. It was good to see. He was no longer afraid of upsetting Edward.

We made it to our room. Peter was there fixing the broken door, thankfully. I didn't like to be left unprotected. I still didn't want to tell Edward, but it had to be done at some point. Peter grabbed the door and pulled it aside. Edward and Bree stood stock still. Their emotions were going haywire. Oh no. Please, please, please don't let this be true. Their emotions were shifting, they were finally becoming complete. The whole reason Bree and Edward never worked was because they were missing a piece of their puzzle. It finally made sense. Please, please, please don't let it be one of my kids. I did not want to be tied this closely to Edward forever. I turned and looked into the room to see who had drawn their attention and I let out a breath. I was safe. My kids were safe. Seth on the other hand…

Seth was standing there, staring at Bree and Edward. He was imprinting on them, both of them. His emotions shifted too, but his were just rounding out. I had to admit that this was a good revelation. Seth would be exactly what Bree and Edward would need. He would round them out nicely. It was a perfect couple now… Well triangle… Hell it didn't matter. Edward ran forward and grabbed Seth under one arm before picking up Bree under his other arm and taking off. It happened so fast that no one seemed to understand what was going on.

"Seth just imprinted," I informed them all. Most of them still didn't understand, but they would get it eventually. A vampire, a newborn, and a wolf together forever… Who knew?

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><p><strong>AN- **So there we go, the big reveal. I hope you all liked it. As I said I've been dropping hints for a while now.

Leave me a review with your thoughts.


	67. Chapter 67

**A/N- **Thanks for all the reviews, much appreciated.

We're doing something a little different this chapter. When Alice and Leah mated I did a small part from Leah's POV to give you guys some added insight and we're going to do that again, this time from Seth's POV so you can all understand exactly how the newly formed trio is going to work.

This turned out to be one of my favorite chapters, so...

Enjoy

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><p><strong>SETH'S POV<strong>

"He is pretty cute," I admitted as I bounced Monroe on my hip. I couldn't believe I was now an uncle, and to not one, but two little hybrid babies. Yeah, my life was awesome. Mom was so concerned with moving us here and she had good reason. Vampires and werewolves aren't supposed to mix. I personally never had a problem. Vampires were just like us, supernatural beings. I've heard we smell bad to the vamps, but the vamps don't smell bad to me.

Peter moved the door and I instinctually looked up. My eyes landed on two sets, one gold and one reddish-gold. I couldn't move and I couldn't look away. Leah, who was standing next to me this whole time, grabbed Monroe from me and my arms automatically fell to my sides. This was it, I just knew it. I was imprinting. I didn't have time to process it before the one with the gold eyes charged me and picked me up. I didn't struggle, I wasn't afraid of him. He took off running, but not before grabbing reddish-gold underneath his other arm.

I don't know how long we ran for. I was content being in gold's arms, but we eventually stopped and gold let us go. I gained my bearings, only to see gold pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair. I turned my attention to reddish-gold. "What's your name?" I asked her.

She looked at me, before looking at gold. Gold was paying us no attention. She turned her attention back to me and answered.

"I'm Bree, that's Edward." Her voice was so small. I wanted to comfort her immediately, but I stood my ground.

I had overheard the other vamps talking about these two before, so I already knew that they had a strained relationship and I wasn't going to step into that, not yet. Speaking of the other vamps, I knew exactly how Jasper felt about Edward. Jasper didn't like Edward at all, he thought he was a nuisance. I reminded myself to make my own judgments and to not rely on Jasper's, especially if I had imprinted on both of these vampire like I suspected.

Edward continued pacing and I just looked at him confused. What was his problem? I glanced at Bree and she had her head cast slightly down, clearly she wasn't going to do anything to ease his… Worries? I stayed silent for a little while longer, until I could no more. I marched over to Edward and I rested my hand on his arm. "Stop it," I pleaded him.

He stopped momentarily before glaring at me. He pulled his arm away from me and began pacing again. I let out a huge sigh. I stepped away and took a seat on a large boulder. He couldn't avoid me forever. He was still here after all. He hadn't ran for the hills yet. Granted we were somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, so technically he had ran for the hills, but that was all details. The point was that he wasn't running from us and he could clearly hear us. I began talking. He would listen and if he ran, well, then we would have a problem. Now, what did I say in a situation like this? I realized there wasn't much I could say without knowing Edward's concerns.

"What's going on, Edward?" I spoke calmly. "Tell me what's going on in that head of yours." He let out a huff, but otherwise stayed silent. "Edward, we're all connected now, you know this. Talk to me, to us, let us know what's wrong."

"What's wrong?" he asked sardonically, finally stopping his pacing. "I've been waiting one hundred years for my mate and I finally get her. I knew it, she knew it deep down, but you know what, it wasn't right, it wasn't easy. It never was. We knew we were mated and we tried to act like we were, but it wasn't right. I care for her, I do, so much, but it just doesn't work like I expect it to, and now you've been thrown into the mix. I can't go through all that again. This whole mating thing is pointless. I look at Bella and Jasper, I was there for their whole relationship, they make everything look so easy, but it's not. He must be influencing her, there's no other answer."

I let out a loud scoff and Edward glared at me, daring me to speak. I would, he didn't intimidate me.

"They're in love, Edward. Neither of them manipulate the other, it's just love."

"Well then why isn't my love perfect?" Edward asked, his voice was so small, as he turned his head away from us. It was all or nothing now.

I took a step towards him and he didn't move. I took another step and another, until I was standing right behind him.

"Edward," I breathed out. "Have you ever thought, especially now, that the reason it wasn't easy, the reason you and Bree never worked out is because you were missing a piece, you were missing me?"

"No!" Edward roared, turning around to face me. Boy did he look angry, I had to admit that it was hot. His snarl got louder. What was that about? It's not like he's a mindreader. I could see a small smirk playing on his lips, but it was gone as soon as it came. He was just so angry, I didn't even flinch. "Love is between a boy and a girl. Two people, not three."

"So Leah and Alice's relationship?" I questioned.

"Is unfortunate," he answered honestly.

"Do you really feel that way?" I asked and he nodded his head. I felt sad for him. He was so sheltered, so innocent, so unwilling to accept what this really was. "Love comes in many different forms, Edward," I told him gently, stepping closer to him. "The wise don't question it, they embrace it. What does gender or ideals really matter in the end if you find your special someone, if you find the person that completes you. It doesn't, Edward. It all bottles down to who you love. You find who you love, you embrace that, and nothing else matters, it all fades away."

"I'm not gay," Edward said like a spoilt child.

"Gay and straight are just terms made up to discriminate against others. There are no terms, Edward, forget them. It's all love, just pure love." I really hoped he would listen to me and see that everything I was saying was true. It all came from the heart. Sure I was confused as well. Half an hour ago I was just your average fifteen year old pup and now I was seemingly mated to two vampires. Two screwed up vampires by the looks of it, but I wasn't afraid and I wasn't backing down. We were meant to be together, all of us, I could just tell. Jasper told me once, that when you find your mate you round them out. All the qualities that you or they have that are lacking, well the other one has that quality in spades. As you grow closer you help each other grow until you're completely one. I really did believe that the reason Edward and Bree hadn't work out yet is because they were missing me and now that I was here there should be no problems. I had no problem being with them both. More love to give, and hopefully receive, in my opinion.

"I can read your mind," Edward informed me.

He could? Well that was interesting and pretty damn cool. A mindreader, nice. Wait, he can hear all this.

"You don't care? You're not shocked?" Edward asked me.

_Why?_ I answered mentally.

"People don't like me in their minds," Edward answered, he was sad again. Poor sad boy. I wanted to comfort him, but I would let him make the first move. I caught the look of relief on his face.

"I don't mind," I reassured him. _You've probably already seen this in my head, Edward, but I care for you, deeply, both of you. I don't question it. I don't worry about how things will work. I just accept it. All those details can be worked out later, but only if we all accept it. We can be great together, Edward. Just accept it._

"I will try," Edward eventually spoke.

_What's the go with Bree?_ I asked Edward silently. _Why doesn't she talk?_

"Fear," Edward answered and I could sense his regret.

_Don't worry_, I reassured him, _we'll work this all out, I promise._

I could immediately sense Edward's relief and gratitude. It's as if a huge weight had just been lifted off his shoulders. He knew he was no longer alone in his struggles, he now had me. I was glad I could do this for him.

"Group hug!" I announced excitedly. It took a while, but soon both Bree and Edward joined me. I hugged them both to me tightly and I had to admit that this felt right, it felt like home. I just hoped that Bree and Edward were willing to accept me into their somewhat already established relationship.

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><p><strong>AN-** I really like this chapter, it turned out good.

Next chapter will go back to Jasper's POV.

Review with your thoughts on this little insight into the trio


	68. Chapter 68

**A/N- **Thanks for the reviews.

There aren't many chapters left now, but there are still a few surprises to come… And they're my kind of surprises, the good ones, haha. So excited, but we must wait for the time to come.

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Dad," Monroe moaned. "I don't want to start school."

I smiled at my boy, of course he didn't.

"Monroe, you have to," Bella told him. He wasn't so little anymore, he already stood taller than Bella's hip.

"But I already learn everything," Monroe tried to argue and I had to laugh at that one. That didn't even make sense. Bella glared at me and I shut my mouth.

"Your sister is all ready," Bella said as she stepped away from Monroe.

My study had been converted into a classroom and Montana was already inside, sitting at her desk, scribbling down on some paper.

"So? She's smart. I'm not smart."

"Yes, you are. You're just as smart as your sister," Bella reassured him, but he wasn't taking it.

"No, she's always smarter and faster than me."

"Monroe," I said as I kneeled down in front of him. "Believe it or not I was in the same boat as you. My 'brother' Edward was faster than me and academically he was smarter than me too, but do you know what? I let it get to me. I allowed it to light a fire within me. There's a chance he's still faster than me, but I'm smarter. Smarts can be learned, my boy, never forget that. You can become the smartest person in the room, you just have to be willing to put in the hard work."

"Okay, Dad," Monroe still seemed reluctant, but I could tell he was coming around to the idea. He gave me a hug before giving Bella one and disappearing into their new classroom.

"Okay, good," Carlisle spoke. "We're all here. Let's start learning."

I smiled as I stood up. There was a great debate over who should be teaching our kids. Some were more book savvy, some were better with life experiences, but in my mind there was only one option, Carlisle. He was the smartest person I knew and he was also three hundred years old. I wouldn't want anyone else doing the job, but Bella and I agreed that all the other vamps could teach the kids their specialties.

Rose was going to teach them mechanics and all about engines. Edward was going to help them learn an instrument of their choice. Esme was going to teach them a foreign language. Emmett was teaching them the basics of self-defense, God forbid. Alice claimed she would teach them all about fashion and what colors don't go with black. Seth and Leah wanted to teach the kids their Indian roots, teaching them to live off the land and how to track animals- This one was a tricky one for the time being as we still weren't allowing the kids to leave the safety of this room… Everyone now knew of their existence, except Kate, however she was currently still off with Garrett in Alaska, but we were playing it safe with the kids. Once they turned one year old, then they could leave the room.

Charlie was going to teach them to fish and all about the law. Sue had taken it upon herself to educate the kids in all the legends of her tribe and about the cold ones. Peter and Charlotte had clammed up when it was their turn to offer what they wanted to teach the kids. I suspect it's because of their upbringing with Maria. I bet they felt like they had nothing to offer, I know I did at times, but I was going to talk with them and perhaps get Peter to teach the kids construction and get Charlotte to teach them hand crafts. She did like to knit I had noted. And once Garrett returns, if willing, I will get him to teach the kids how to draw. Bella and I would just teach them everything we knew and most importantly we would teach them love and right from wrong, give them strong morals and ethics.

I've heard people say before that it takes an army to raise a child and I was lucky, because I had an army.

I took one last look at my children in their classroom. I could feel their excitement. They were so happy and so ready and willing to learn. I knew my children well and I knew that they would soak up any information they could like a sponge. I walked over to Bella and hugged her fiercely.

"Are you ready for work?" I asked her. I could sense that she was having a hard time leaving the twins. How fast they grew was odd and it seemed like you never got enough time to really appreciate their stage of life before they grew again. I couldn't wait until we hit the one year mark and they started ageing in human years. It would be good and we would be able to appreciate it more, but by then they would no longer be children, they will be eleven years old.

I had to pull Bella away with the promise that we could visit them when they were on their break. We left the room and began walking to our office. Once we got there, Seth was standing outside.

"Jasper, I need to talk to you," he told me and I could feel his irritation and anger. What had Edward done now?

"Of course. In my office?" I suggested, but Seth shook his head.

"No, in private," he glanced apologetically at Bella, but she shrugged her shoulders and disappeared into the office.

"What is this, Seth?" I asked him, but he just marched off. I followed him.

I thought they had been doing well. It had been one month since the trio had been formed and every glimpse I got of them had been a good one. They were still wary and awkward, but what do you expect from two fifteen year olds and one sixteen year old. They were acting exactly how they should be for people their age, so I wondered what Seth's problem was. Surely it had nothing to do with his relationship or I would have sensed it.

Seth walked us way into the mountains. Where were we going? He stopped suddenly and faced me.

"Can we be heard?" he asked me.

I sensed the area around me. I could sense Alistair somewhere in the distance. I would have to send Maggie to check on him again, it had been awhile.

"No," I answered honestly and Seth kept on walking. Why didn't he want this to be overheard? What was going on?

Seth began walking towards Alistair's hiding spot, so I stood in front of him and directed him away. I kept on walking until there was no one in my range and I turned to face him.

"What's going on?" I asked him and this seemed to throw him off balance.

"I'm not happy with you, Jasper," Seth told me and I frowned. What had I done? I didn't say anything and allowed him to continue. "You need to stop hating on Edward."

Edward, of course this is about him.

"I don't hate Edward," I told Seth, but he didn't even believe me. "Okay," I admitted, "maybe Edward and I don't exactly get along."

"Why?" Seth asked me and that made me really think. Why?

"Because I came into this family and he was the perfect son," I admitted to him. I had never admitted this to anyone. "Carlisle and Esme loved him so much and I was just me. I was damaged and tortured. No one loved me, no one. But Edward, he had everything and he didn't even know how lucky that was. I would have killed to have a vampire upbringing like he did. He had everything I did not and he didn't hesitate to let me know that."

"I see," Seth responded, "and now."

"And now what?" I asked. "Nothing's changed."

"You're either in denial or you're stupid, Jasper, neither of which I believe to be true. The tables have turned," he informed me and I thought about it. Sure some things had changed, but the tables had not turned. "You have everything now, Jasper. You got the girl. You have two amazing kids. You rule the Americas. You made something of yourself. How do you think all this makes Edward feel?"

"Inadequate," I answered automatically.

"Exactly, and with Bella's shield being down he can hear every wayward thought you have about him." Oh, well crap. "Yes," Seth agreed. "I don't care if you can never get over this hatred or if you cannot understand that you are now the one who is on top, but you need to pull it together and you need to stop. Edward doesn't deserve your thoughts. He did nothing wrong. He did the best with what he was given. I know you know that he is emotionally stunted, but he's finally working on this and your comments in your head don't help. He's no longer after Bella, or you, so let it drop. Forgive and forget or you'll be sorry."

Seth finally shut his mouth and I was in shock. It was no lie that I didn't exactly get along with Edward and I will admit that my mind does drift to him at times and the thoughts aren't exactly pleasant, but how am I supposed to control that? Where did this come from? I looked at the huffing werewolf in front of me. He was so passionate about his mate. I couldn't help but think that he really was the perfect fit for Edward and Bree. He would no doubt balance them out nicely. Seth just stood there. I think he was waiting for me to respond.

"I understand," I answered, and I really did. "I will work on it," I promised him.

Seth accepted my answer and walked away from me. I saw him turn into a wolf in the distance. It was hard to believe that the boy was only fifteen and still a pup. I shook my head before running back towards the house. I thought of what he had said. I thought of how Edward had wanted Bella, but now I had her. I didn't know if Edward ever wanted children, but I guess the fact that they were Bella's children didn't help the matter. Edward had known about our children for a month, and granted he had been dealing with his new mates, but I had noticed that he avoided them well. He didn't like to be left alone with the twins at all. Maybe he was jealous of their existence and what they stood for, a testament of mine and Bella's love. Okay, maybe I would cut him some slack.

I hit the ranch and stopped running. I needed to get back to the office. I needed to talk to Peter and Charlotte. As I jumped up the steps I heard a noise behind me. I spun around and there was Garrett, I smiled at him. It was good to have him back.

"How are the twins?" Is the first thing out of his mouth and this makes me smile.

"They're good," I answered. "They've started school this morning."

"Oh," he seemed disappointed. "I missed so much. How's Monty and Monroe?"

"Good, but she's given him the nickname Roey and he cannot stand it," I informed Garrett, he seemed sad. "They missed you, you know. Every five minutes they would ask about you, more Monroe than Montana, but we know Montana plays everything close to her chest. Sometimes at night though, during her sleep, I could hear her calling your name, well your nickname 'Gary'." I couldn't help, but laugh at that. Garrett was a kickass name, but Gary… I shook my head.

"Shut it, Jazz," Garrett replied, smile on his face.

"So where's Kate?" I asked and Garrett frowned.

"She missed her family. I stayed as long as I could, but I knew that my place was here. She said she'd be back soon."

I stepped down the steps and placed my hand on Garrett's shoulder. He was sad, I had never seen him sad before. I guess he was just missing his mate.

"Come on," I told Garrett, "come and see the kids. It's not time for their break, but I can feel Bella's longing from here and she's ready to snap." Garrett seemed hesitant, but he agreed.

We needed to get Kate back here as soon as possible, I didn't like to see my friend sad.

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><p><strong>AN- **Another chapter down, only about seven more to go… Don't hold me to that number, but it's a rough estimate.

Don't forget you can grab a copy of my first novel for free, info is on my profile page.

Review.


	69. Chapter 69

**A/N- **Thanks for all the reviews guys, you're awesome.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Hey, Jasper, I just want to thank you for getting Kate to come back to me. Lord knows I tried to convince her, but I just couldn't. So thank you."

"It wasn't a problem, Garrett, she just misses her family is all. Just think about all the time she's spent with them, a millennia. You can't just escape from that kind of bond, but she's okay. She loves you, but she just misses her family," I tried to explain to him.

"I understand, it's just… I'm just glad she's back."

"Me too," I agreed. "Now can you figure this damn thing out because I sure as hell can't."

I let go of the bowtie around my neck in frustration. Garrett let out a laugh before tying it for me. I looked in the mirror after he was done and admired myself. I was dressed in a sharp, fitting black suit, with a crisp white shirt and a black bowtie. I looked pretty good. My hair was still wild, but you couldn't control everything. The only reason I was going through this was for Bella, well that's not entirely true. I cannot wait to call her my wife. The ceremony, I could skip that.

"You look good, Jasper. I still would have said to go with your confederate army attire, but each to their own."

I frowned. If I had made it through the civil war and married afterward I would have worn my uniform, but now, it just didn't seem fitting. Plus I would only ever wear the original and thanks to Maria and her thirst for power I no longer have mine. Garrett offered me his, it was still in pristine condition, but I declined. I would only ever wear mine. He's wearing his though and I like that. At least one of us representing. I had two best men, Peter and Garrett. Peter wasn't too happy at all. I could not get him in a suit, so he's wearing a specially made 'functions' Whitlock jacket that's dark grey, almost black, with white trim. He's wearing it grudgingly, but he looks the part.

Bella was currently off somewhere getting dressed herself. We had our bachelor/ette parties last night. I just went for a hunt with the boys, even Charlie, and we just joked around and had a good time. The girls made some kind of homemade spa and pampered themselves. I don't know everything they did, but I do know that Bella was drinking and the sex we had in one of the spare rooms was unforgettable. I couldn't help the smile that crossed my face as I realized once again that Bella would be mine for the rest of eternity, it was a good thought.

Bella had chosen Rose and Charlotte as her bridesmaids and not everyone was happy about that, but I put them in their place. This was Bella's day and she could choose whoever she wanted to. All these traditions however were killing me. After our sexual encounter last night we were heading for our room to spend time with our kids, but I wasn't allowed to enter, something about not sleeping with Bella before the wedding day, I'm not sure. I tried to steer clear of all the traditions, just doing what I was told. What Bella wants, Bella gets. She was under the impression that the reason her mother's marriage to Charlie didn't work was because they didn't follow the traditions. I thought it was all a load of crap, but it's her day.

I left Garrett and made my way up the stairs and to our room. Thankfully they had put Bella on the other side of the house, so we could both go and see our children when we wished. I opened up the door and slipped in.

"Wow, Daddy, you're beautiful," Montana said before jumping from the other side of the room and landing in my arms.

"Thank you, my angel. You look pretty good yourself." I held her out and looked at her in her little white flower girl dress. I looked up and she was blushing, just like her mother. "My beautiful angel," I told her as I kissed her head before placing her on my hip. "Where's your brother?"

"Hiding," Montana snickered. "He doesn't like his monkey suit."

I smiled at that, that's my boy. I walked into the main part of the room, but it had changed recently. The empty space directly across from the living room had been sectioned off to make a bedroom for Monroe and Montana. I stopped at the door and looked in. Both beds were made, but there was lump underneath Monroe's comforter. He was trying to hide, but he wasn't too good at it.

"Monroe?" I asked and he tried to burrow further into the bed. "Buddy?" I put Montana down and sat down on the bed next to him, placing my hand on his back. He didn't move. I looked up, but Montana had disappeared. I pulled the blankets back and my boy turned to face me, my breath caught in my throat, he was the beautiful one.

"What?" Monroe asked me. "It looks bad doesn't it? Monty kept saying that I was in a monkey suit. I don't want to be a monkey, they throw their poo."

Oh, Monroe.

I picked him up and stood him in front of me. He looked fine, good even.

"Monroe, you do not look like a monkey, your sister is just trying to get to you once again. You really do need to ignore everything she says to you. Do I look like a monkey?" I asked my boy and he shook his head no. "Come with me." I stood up and grabbed his hand and walked him into the bathroom. We stood side by side, hand in hand, looking into the mirror. We looked the same, the only thing difference was our size and hair color. "See, my boy, neither of us look like monkeys. We actually look quite good."

"Okay," Monroe accepted and we left the room. "But, Dad, why can't we be there?"

"You are going to be there, buddy."

"Yeah, but under Monty's shield. No one's even going to know we're there, we'll be invisible."

"I know," I agreed, "but it's what we have to do. Your mother and I can see through Montana's shield, we'll be able to see you and we know you're there. It just what has to be done for your protection."

"But why, dad? Why? Everyone here knows we exist."

"Everyone, but Kate," I agreed.

"So tell Kate then, simple."

"It's not that simple, Monroe. Kate's family has caused Bella and me problems in the past. I may trust Kate, but I know she is loyal to her family and I would never forgive myself if something happened to the two of you just because we weren't careful enough. You can meet Kate once you turn one and begin aging normally."

"When's that? How old do we look now?" Monroe asked me. It was sweet how much he just really wanted to be there for me and his mother.

"About a month away, you look about nine at the moment." Monroe huffed, but didn't say anything. "Listen here," I told him as I walked over to Montana and sat down next to her on the couch. "Kids, how about this? You know this ceremony is only for human purposes, when your mom becomes a vampire we will be having another ceremony, one that's forever. You can be there for that one fully, I promise."

They still weren't happy, but it's the best I could do.

"Are you and Mom going on a honeymoon?" Montana asked me and I could feel her mischievousness.

"And leave you two all alone?" I questioned. "No way."

"But, Dad, you need a break, just you and mom," Montana argued.

"I agree," I told her and she became hopeful. "Once you and your brother hit the year mark and are under Charlie and Sue's care, with a lot of vampire babysitters, then we'll go somewhere."

"That's totally not fair," Montana spoke up, but I could feel her emotions. She didn't really care either way.

My phone buzzed and I answered it. "Jasper."

"Hey, there's someone at the door for you, a human. Did you order a snack?"

"Garrett," I hissed, they better not have heard that. "I'll be right down. Do not eat the human in the meantime."

"Another human?" Monroe asked me as I got up and made my way to the door. "Who is it? Can we meet them?"

"It's a surprise for your mother and you can meet them during the wedding, under your sister's shield. Now be good. I'll send someone up to hang out with you in the meantime."

"Emmett?" they both asked me at the same time.

"Sure," I agreed, why the hell not? Their excitement took over the room thanks to my boy's gift. I shook my head at them. The twins and Emmett, oh boy. The dog was just the start of it. Thankfully Emmett had taken the dog under his responsibility and it was never kept in our room. It was Emmett's, and Wolf just visited the kids when he did. It was the best outcome for the worst situation. "Don't get your clothes dirty," I warned them. "I've gotta go before Garrett gets too hungry."

The kids nodded their heads and I used my vampire speed to get to the front door. I slowed down just on the other side and their conversation reached me.

"Aren't you at all curious as to why my eyes are red?" Garrett asked, baiting. He was currently playing with his food.

"No," my guest answered just as I pulled open the door.

"Jasper," she breathed out a sigh of relief and stepped closer to me.

"Angela," I greeted back. "That will be all, Garrett," I told him and he finally looked away from Angela and walked back inside. "Thank you for coming, Angela."

"That's fine. I was surprised to get your call actually. You left town so suddenly, but Bella's dad told me you had just moved states, but then everyone else moved as well."

"Yeah, sorry about that, and I can't exactly go into details about it all."

"I understand, Jasper. I got your message loud and clear last night. You can trust me not to say anything about what I see, I promise."

"Good, good. I'm just glad you could make it in such short notice. I thought we were all set for this wedding, but then I heard Bella mumbling about you in her sleep the other night and it all clicked. She wanted you here for her special day."

"I'm glad to be here. Does she know I'm coming?" Angela asked me.

"No, I decided to keep it a surprise. Come." I opened up the door and Angela entered. I could feel her amazement and she let out a gasp. She was looking up at the picture of Bella and I that hung high up on the wall. I could tell she wanted to ask me questions, but she kept quiet.

I led her over to where Bella was with her bridesmaids and I knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Rose called out.

"It's Jasper."

"Oh, Jasper, no, go away. We've been through this, you can't see Bella until it's time."

I rolled my eyes. "I understand that. Bella, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Jasper," Bella responded.

"I have something for you, come out here and see."

"I'm not falling for that, Jasper," came my mate's reply.

I turned my attention to Angela and she was amused at the whole situation.

"Bella," I let out a breath. "Come out here now or I will send your surprise away." I sent Angela some reassurance so she wouldn't think I was serious.

"Jasper, I'm in my dress. Can this wait?"

"No, cover up, put a robe on, take the dress off. I do not care."

"Give me a minute," Bella finally agreed. I turned my attention to Angela and gave her a smile. I could feel her excitement at getting to see Bella again. "What is it?" Bella asked, sticking her head out the door.

"I got you a surprise," I told her proudly. Bella cocked her eyebrow at me, Angela was out of her line of vision.

I grabbed Angela and pulled her in front of me.

"Oh," Bella said, but that was it. I was expecting her to be excited, for her to hug Angela, and then she began crying. What did I do wrong? "Oh, Jasper."

"What?" I asked genuinely confused. Her emotions were locked up tight, so I couldn't get a read off her. Angela stepped aside and next thing I know Bella is in my arms.

"I love you so much," she told me, littering my face with kisses. "How did you know?"

"You mentioned her in your sleep, so I put two and two together. Why didn't you just tell me you wanted Angela here?" I asked.

"I was afraid you would say no," Bella admitted as she slid out of my arms and turned her attention to Angela. "Angela, I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Bella." Now it was their turn to hug.

"One more surprise," I told Bella carefully and she turned her attention back to me.

"Jasper," she said and I could feel her love for me.

"I ordered another bridesmaid dress… For Angela."

"Oh, Jasper, you're just too perfect and you're mine forever." Bella was back in my arms once again.

"Thank you, Jasper," Angela said, slightly embarrassed by mine and Bella's love.

"Alright, alright," Rose said as she came out of the room. "Bella stop giving Jasper a big head. Angela, good to see you again, come in and get ready with us."

"I have to go," Bella pouted at me. I leaned forward and captured her lips with mine. "How are the M&M's? I haven't had a chance to check yet."

M&M's had quickly became the code word for the twins as it was common enough for people to just assume we were talking about the chocolate and not our children.

"Good," I answered. "Emmett's got 'em."

"Is that wise?" Bella asked me.

"Probably not, but don't worry I'm heading back there."

"Good, oh and Jasper?"

"Yeah?"

"You look so hot in that tux," she told me her lust overtaking me. My eyes turned black and I was ready to pounce on her. Bella smirked at me and shut the door firmly.

Goddamnit. I let out a small growl and Bella giggled in response. Damn woman, I would have her tonight.

I headed back to our room. I wanted to avoid everything. Alice and Esme had organized all the decorations and everything. Bella and I didn't care. We just wanted to get married, that's all. I could feel Edward's jealousy from here, but I brushed it off. He was dealing with our wedding better than expected and I have a feeling it was all due to Seth.

I was nervous, but excited about the ceremony. A part of me wanted it over and done with, another part of me didn't, but most of me just wanted it to be perfect for Bella, for her to get everything that she ever wanted.

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><p><strong>AN- **Weddings and I don't get along, so we'll leave this chapter here.

Review.


	70. Chapter 70

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing guys.

I'm haven't wavered from my plan as of yet, so we have about five chapters to go, well four if you don't count this one. So exciting, yet sad.

This chapter is a reward for those of you who have stuck around.

Enjoy.

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><p><em>Some time after the wedding.<em>

**JPOV**

"Jasper, are you sure this is a good idea. Marcus is coming, we should just keep the kids hidden until after he visits."

"Relax, Bella," I said bringing her into my arms. "Monroe and Montana have been stuck in our room their whole life, a whole year, they are beyond cabin fever. They need to get out and I trust Marcus. I say we stick to the plan, we say they're relatives of ours that lost their family and Charlie became their legal guardian."

"But Monroe is a spitting image of you, it's not going to work. Not for Kate either."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. Bella was right, as usual.

"I know," I agreed. "But we can't keep them hidden forever. It's not right to them. Maybe we can say they're distant relatives of mine. I don't know. Perhaps if you didn't feel the need to invite Marcus to our wedding then he wouldn't be visiting at all."

"Oh, no you don't. Don't blame this on me, Jasper."

I brought Bella into a hug to calm myself down. "I don't blame you," I whispered to her. "I just wish it was easier. I have no problem with my children, but I don't want the rest of the vampire world to know that hybrids are a possibility. It would cause chaos, wars would break out, and the world would change forever. I don't want the world to change."

"I know," Bella whispered back as she held me tightly. "I trust you, Jasper. If you think it's time then I will stand by you."

"Thank you." I kissed Bella hard, crushing her human body to me tightly, she let out a hiss of pain and I loosened my hold on her. "How long now?" I asked her. She had said she would like to be changed into a vampire once the kids were one year old. She still wanted to be closer to my age, but she was seventeen now.

"Not much longer." Bella smiled at me. She was ready, I could feel it. I could not wait until she became a vampire. Sure I'd miss her human qualities, but in my opinion I was gaining so much more… My mate for eternity.

"Let's wake the kids up and tell them the good news." I couldn't hide my excitement.

"Sure," Bella agreed.

We walked over to their bedroom door and cracked it open. They were both sleeping soundly. We slipped inside and turned on the light. Both let out a groan and rolled over onto their fronts, trying to get away from the blinding light.

"Time to wake up," Bella announced and the twins groaned again.

"It's not a school day, Mom, go away," Montana protested and I smiled. I knew what would wake them up.

"I guess you guys can stay in bed if you really want," I baited them and they took it. "Come on, Bella, they don't want to see the rest of the house."

I grabbed Bella's hand and turned to leave the room.

"What?" Monroe asked confused and the next thing I know the twins have jumped out of their beds and landed on our backs. Monroe on mine, Montana on Bella's. Bella winced once again. We really needed to make her a vampire soon.

"Be gentle," I warned Montana and she suddenly realized she was hurting Bella.

"Sorry, Mom." Montana snuggled into her back. "Do we really get to see the rest of the house today?"

They were both feeling excited, but they didn't allow it to overtake them in fear that Bella and I would change our minds.

"Yes, really," Bella answered.

"Oh my goodness, yes!" Montana screamed and I think I burst an eardrum.

"Get dressed, drink your blood, brush your teeth and then we can go," I told them as I pulled Monroe off my back and put him back on the ground.

Montana slid off Bella's back and then all we could see were two blurs. Both used their vampire speed to get dressed for the day, make their beds. Bella and I stepped out of their room just in time to see them finish off the last of their blood and rinse their cups. We took one more step out and they were in the bathroom brushing their teeth. I had never seen them move this fast before. Their excitement had overtaken them and Monroe was projecting it. I put my arm around Bella and walked towards the door, one moment later the twins were behind us, bouncing on the balls of their feet.

"Now," I spoke seriously. "Outside of this room you are to hide your gifts and what you really are. We will have guests at times who do not know who you are and we want to keep it a secret."

"We've been through this all before," Bella cut me off, but softened the blow by kissing my neck. "You know what's at stake, children, and you know the risk. You also know if you disobey our rules then you will be grounded and that means you will be stuck in this room for longer. Understand?"

"We understand," the twins answered at the same time.

"Let's do this," Bella told me, taking a deep breath. The truth was, we had discussed this with the kids countless times, they knew what to do and how to act, but we were still fearful.

I sent a quick message to Maggie that we were coming out. She was going to keep an eye on Kate for me. I wasn't too worried about her, but I knew Maggie would be able to tell me if her intentions were honorable or not towards Monroe and Montana. I opened up the door and Bella and I stood out. The kids took a moment, clasping hands before stepping outside. Their excitement skyrocketed and amazement and awe soon joined their excitement. Bella and I led the way down the hallway and began descending the stairs. Monroe and Montana stayed safely behind us, just as we discussed.

As we approached the main room I squeezed Bella's hand, this was it. The kids now aged like a human and they looked human. They breathed oxygen, their heart's beat, and they ate food. They were humans. They just needed to be mindful of their strength, speed, and gifts. We could do this, surely. We stepped into the main room and everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at us. I stepped to the side and allowed the children to step forward. This was mainly all for Kate's benefit.

"Bella was researching my family tree and she found some surviving Whitlock's," I told everyone. This was our cover story and it should work fine. "This is Monroe and Montana Whitlock and unfortunately their parents were killed. We know it's risky, but we've decided to take them in, becoming their sole guardian with the help of Charlie and Sue. They are human, but we had to tell them of our existence, do not worry though because one day they will be changed into vampires."

I figured that was good enough. The kids knew their backstory so they could field any questions they were asked. I stepped aside and regarded Kate who was standing in front of Garrett, his arms firmly around her. All she was feeling was sympathy and love. She couldn't take her eyes off them. I stepped away from my kids and joined Maggie on the other side of the room. I wanted to be able to see my kids at all times. Maggie and I met eyes. I cocked an eyebrow, silently asking if Kate was feeling any deceit. Maggie shook her head no and I let out a breath. This was good news.

I stood back and just watched as my kids walked into the middle of the room, all eyes on them.

"Hi," Montana said shyly and those who knew her well smiled brightly. Montana was never shy, but she was at this moment.

Monroe must have seen this as his chance and he stepped forward, his hand on his heart. Oh boy.

"I am so grateful you have allowed me and my sister into your home," he said as he laid his charm on thickly. "When our parents passed we didn't know if we could go on, but then great, great, great, great, great, great Grandpa Jasper tracked us down and he gave us a home." How many 'great's' was that? Way too many surely. My boy was lucky I didn't believe in physical punishment. "We are so honored and hope to fit in here. We do not care that you are vampires, but I do please ask that you do not have me or my sister as a snack." Everyone let out a laugh at that.

This was fine, this would all work out.

"Jasper," Kate spoke and I met her eyes. "Can we talk please?"

I frowned. Okay, maybe everything wasn't okay.

I nodded my head and gestured to my office. She took my cue and disappeared into the office. I turned my attention to Maggie, she shrugged her shoulders. I turned my attention to Garrett next, he just looked confused. There was only one way I would get the answers I needed. I headed to my office and Bella stepped in front of me. I shook my head at her. I would deal with this.

"M&M's," is all I whispered to her and she immediately understood. We needed to keep an eye on them at all times.

I entered my office and sat down behind my desk. Kate stayed standing and I could feel that she was nervous and anxious. I waited for her to speak.

"Jasper," she sighed, stopping to face me. "I have something to tell you." I didn't respond. "Recently I was torn between my family and Garrett. When Garrett came back to the ranch things began to clear up and become more complicated. First, as soon as Garrett left I missed him so much, but that's not the point. And soon as he left I was bombarded by the truth. My family, they think you and Garrett have taken me away from them, brainwashed me. I'm not sure on the details, but they're not happy. Once Garrett left they convinced me to stay with them, but then you called and everything clicked back in place.

"I was missing Garrett dearly and I like my life here within the hierarchy. I've been around for a millennia. I've done and seen a lot of things, but I've never felt needed or like I was making a difference. I feel like that here. I'm happy, completely happy for the first time in my long life and that is because of you and Garrett. I know my place is here with you and my mate, and I believe this will show you my loyalty. They didn't tell me much, but I put together what I overheard and what they weren't saying and I have some bad news. Eleazar and my family have teamed up with Aro. I don't know the full plan, but I know they're in talks of attacking you."

What? This was not good news.

"Thank you," I told her. She was very brave to bring this information to me. "We like having you here too, Kate, as does Garrett. No matter what happens with your family you will always have a place with us, understand?"

"Yes, Jasper, I do. Thank you."

"May I ask one question?"

"Yes, of course," Kate responded.

"Why did you tell me this information now? You've been back for a month."

"Simple," Kate answered with a small smile. "You're one of a kind, Jasper. Taking in you kin given your circumstances just because you're the only family they have left. It's admirable. I was torn, I told you that, but you're the one I want to back in this fight. You're the one I want to fight for. You are trying to make a change in this vampire world and it's a change I would love to see. My loyalty is now to you. If I ever break that, then kill me."

I could feel her seriousness. She was telling the complete truth.

"I can trust you," I said, but left it at that.

"Yes, you can," Kate responded and I believed her. You just don't turn on your family like this unless you meant it.

"Kate, Monroe and Montana, they are Bella and my children, they are not immortal, they are hybrids and they grow with every passing day."

Well that shocked her and she fell into the seat.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked me confused and shocked.

"Simple, you trusted me with the news about your family, so I know I can trust you with this."

"Thank you, Jasper. I don't want to admit this, but I'm scared. I haven't known a life without my sisters, but I'm willing to try."

"We're here for you, Kate, all of us. Lean on us when you need to. If you ever have any problems or issues then come to me. We are a family too and you are a part of it."

I stood up and made my way to the door, opening it up for Kate. We stepped outside and I was suddenly relieved. Everyone living here now knew of the twins' existence and exactly who they are in relation to Bella and me. My joy was short lived though because the doorbell rang and I froze. Marcus was here. I think everyone froze actually. I was the first to recover. I made my way over to Bella's side and grabbed her hand, leading her downstairs to the front door. We couldn't keep him waiting. I opened up the door and there he stood.

"Marcus, a pleasure to have you here," I told him as I reached out to shake his hand. The first thing I noticed is that Marcus had cut off almost all of his hair. His black hair was short, his eyes were bright, and he looked happy. He even looked younger than when we saw him last in Volterra. It was so good to see. No Aro seemed to agree with him. I frowned at the thought.

"What's wrong?" Marcus asked me immediately.

"In a moment," I responded, shaking my head at him. Now was not the right time to discuss Aro and Eleazar.

"Marcus," Bella began, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Oh, Bella." Marcus' happiness overtook him and he brought her into a hug. "It's so good to see you again and you're still human, I admire that."

"Thank you," Bella accepted.

"Please come in," I told him as I stepped aside. "I know it's been a year, but I'm sad to say that Bella was gravely ill for a while, so our plan to rule the Americas has slowed down, but we're still working on it."

"No need to explain, Jasper. Caius and I are still ruling at Volterra as we always have… Well with a few exceptions of course, so there's no need for you to panic, we've been keeping an eye on things for you."

"Thank you, Marcus."

He stepped inside and looked around. Glancing at the Whitlock crest, the picture of Bella and I, and lastly our sign by the door '_your diet, your choice_' he seemed amused by that one.

"I like your place already," Marcus smiled at us.

"Please come to the main room," I told him as I headed for the stairs. "We have a couple of humans and some wolves, just so you know." I could feel his fear, but he pushed it aside. We hit the second floor and walked into the main room. Marcus stopped instantly and I realized my mistake, I had forgotten about Marcus' gift.

Marcus just stood there, looking all around, seeing all the relationship bonds we had. There were a lot, we were all intertwined, but that wasn't my concern. Marcus would be able to see the strong bond between Bella and I and our children. I held my breath and put my arm around Bella. I wasn't sure if she realized this all yet, but I wasn't about to voice my concerns out loud.

Marcus finally laid eyes on our kids and I heard his breath catch. I wanted to close my eyes, but I didn't dare to. Monroe and Montana soon caught on and they looked back at him. Everything was silent, it's as though time stood still, and then Monroe stepped forward. Montana followed her brother, a step behind him. They kept on walking until they were right in front of him.

"Hello, Marcus," Monroe spoke. I could feel his fear, but he wasn't projecting it for once. "My name is Monroe and this is my sister Montana." Marcus didn't say anything. "I'm sorry for your loss, but I admire your strength. I don't know if I'd ever be able to live on if my mate died. You're strong and brave."

"Yes," Montana agreed, finally stepping up beside her brother.

"I can't believe it," Marcus said as he looked down at my two children. "They are yours?" he asked quietly, so no one else could hear.

"Yes," I answered out loud. "They are Bella and my children."

"Remarkable. I had heard murmurings about hybrids, but all our leads became dead ends. It's just remarkable. They look exactly like you, a perfect blend. Tell me, do they have gifts?"

"No," I answered automatically. If we were alone I would have told Marcus the truth, but with this many vampires present I was not revealing a thing as a lot of them still didn't know about the gifts.

"Pity, but still remarkable. How old are they, not much older than a year?"

"No, not much older," I wasn't giving anything away unless needed. "Listen, Marcus, this is not something we wish to come out. The kids will be fully grown in a few years and then they will appear to be as vampires. I think you would agree with me that the existence of hybrids isn't something that can come out."

"Of course, Jasper, of course. I'm just amazed is all, sorry for all the questions."

"It's okay. Let's go into my office. We have much to discuss."

Marcus finally tore his eyes away from the kids and we all headed into the office, Peter and Garrett as well.

"Marcus, these two are my second in commands, Peter Whitlock and Garrett…" I trialed off, I didn't even know his surname.

"Garrison," Garrett supplied, but said no more.

"Peter Whitlock and Garrett Garrison. Everyone take a seat as we have a lot to discuss." I sat down behind my desk, Bella at my side. Peter and Marcus took a seat in front of us and Garrett stood by the door.

We began with formalities and then Bella and I told Marcus all about our plans for the Americas, our laws, all of that. It took a good hour, but it was good to finally have it all out in the open and to have his feedback. Next we answered all of his questions about the twins and he admitted that after our explanation he was less concerned that they existed. Lastly I told everyone that Aro had teamed up with Eleazar and they were planning to attack at some point. This was news to everyone and we discussed it in depth. Marcus said that we could have any number of his guard if need be and that it was his fault because he was easy on Aro and allowed him to escape. We all sat down and made a rough plan, another hour ticking by.

We hit a break and I closed my eyes. This was draining and I missed my kids. I turned to look at Bella and she was feeling the exact same way. I went to reach for her hand, but I stopped suddenly. I was hit with a lot of pain, more than I had ever felt before. It reminded me of Bella's, but it was worse. I was glad I was sitting down or I would have been on the floor right now. I managed to stand up. I was trying to gauge whose emotions it was and then it hit me, it was Monroe and he was in pain. I didn't stop, I didn't say anything. I just broke through the glass window doors and leaped off the balcony. I could feel Bella's fear behind me, but I didn't care. I didn't have enough time. I needed to save my boy.

I followed his emotions deep into the mountains. What was he doing out here? Why wasn't anyone watching him? Where was Montana? I was kicking myself. Why didn't I keep a closer eye on my boy? Now he was hurt. How badly was he hurt? I finally broke through a small clearing and what I saw broke my heart. Monroe was lying on the ground, his neck and chest were sliced open and he was bleeding. There was so much blood everywhere. What had happened? I stepped towards my broken boy and just as I did, Maggie and a bear went flying across the clearing. I reached my boy and saw another bear, this one dead, just lying a few yards from my boy.

"Monroe?" I asked quietly. "Monroe?" There was so much blood. What had I done?

I heard Maggie snap the other bear's neck and she was in front of me.

"You need to take him back to the house," she told me forcefully.

"What happened?" I asked, tears threatening to overtake me.

"I don't know," Maggie answered and I could feel her sadness and regret. "Montana became the sole focus of everyone. Some time had passed and I noticed Monroe was missing. I followed his trail and got here just in time to see the two bears circling him. I grabbed the first bear and as I was killing it the other one took a swipe. I'm so sorry, Jasper, I should have protected him better."

I was just thankful Maggie was here, that she had noticed Monroe was missing. I gave her a look and sent her my gratitude. I picked my boy up, his blood soaking my clothes instantly, he didn't move, he didn't whimper. I couldn't feel his emotions anymore and that scared me more than anything. I held him to me gently and took off running. We needed to save him, he had to be saved. Could you turn a hybrid? I didn't think you could. I hit the house in record time and broke through the front door, jumping straight up to the second floor. I needed Carlisle right now. I landed on the second floor and I could feel Bella's pain.

"Oh, god," she whimpered.

I stood before the dining room table and sat my broken boy's body down carefully. "Carlisle," I called out and he was in front on me instantly. "Save him, please," I pleaded him. He nodded his head and I stepped back.

Bella joined me and grabbed me around the waist.

"What happened?" her choked up voice hit me.

"It was a bear attack. I don't even know why he was out there." As I said it I could feel Emmett's guilt. Emmett. Suddenly it made sense. Emmett must have told Monroe about his fight with the bear, the fight that saw him lose his life. I saw red and I didn't hold back.

I jumped in front of Emmett and he fell to his knees. He knew he did wrong. He closed his eyes before looking up at me. He was sorry and he was full of regret, I could see that, but what he did was unacceptable. My boy had tried to take on a bear just because his Uncle Emmett had. Emmett could see I wasn't letting up and he dropped his head to his shoulder, opening up his neck to me. I would kill him, I had to. He killed my boy. I stretched my fingers and got ready to take his head off. I pulled back my arm and swiped forward. Nothing happened. Emmett was there one minute and gone the next. I looked around for my daughter, she had saved him.

I looked frantically around the room, but I couldn't see her at all. I turned around once more and she was standing behind me, hands clasped in front of her.

"Daddy," Montana spoke and I could feel her overwhelming sadness. She kept on glancing over at her brother. "Please don't kill, Emmy, please don't. Monroe's okay, he's still alive."

I turned around and looked at my boy, he was still unconscious. He still looked the same, lifeless. I couldn't even hear the beat of his heart.

"How do you know?" I asked, my voice beyond fierce.

"Because I can hear him," Montana admitted and it just about knocked me off my feet.

"You can hear him?" I asked dropping to my knees in front of her.

"Yes, our minds are connected."

"What is he saying? What is he feeling?" I pleaded her as Bella joined my side.

"He's calmer now. When he came in he told me that he was healing slowly and that he was okay," Montana began choking up. "When you went to attack Emmett he was pleading with me to do something to stop it."

"And now?" I just needed to know.

"He's happy, he's proud." Why would he be proud? "He keeps on saying, I'm just like daddy now, scarred, chicks dig scars."

He was okay? He would be fine. I stood up from the ground and pulled Bella with me. I walked over to the table and looked down at my boy. He was still lifeless, but now I had hope. I reached out and held his hand tightly in mine.

"I'm here, buddy, my little soldier. I'm here for you." I grabbed his hand tightly and looked at his wounds closely. He had three deep claw marks from his jaw, down his neck, across his heart, all the way down to his lower stomach. As I looked closely I could see his venom had closed off the wounds so that the blood had stopped flowing, but his skin was still wide open.

"We're going to have to stitch him up," Carlisle told me, "it's going to leave a permanent scar."

My poor boy. I never wanted him to be scarred, but now he was.

"He's okay," Montana reassured us as she climbed up my back and put her arm around Bella. He was fine, Monroe was fine. I don't think I would ever forgive myself though.

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><p><strong>AN- **Tell me what you thought by leaving me a review.

I've posted the first chapter to my new Bella/Jasper fic, it's called **Let's Get Ethical**, and this is the synopsis-

_Jasper Whitlock is a highly trained and sought after therapist at the top of his field. He has many patients all with their own set of problems, but it's not until he gets new patient, Isabella Swan, that he starts questioning everything and wondering just how much stock he has in his ethics and whether or not he's willing to break them. All human. Cullen's included, but not related. J/B pairing._

Please check it out and leave me a review. I hope you guys like it.


	71. Chapter 71

**A/N- **Reviews are dropping and they have been for the past few chapters, but oh well, the story is nearly finished anyway.

This is a chapter a lot of you have most likely been waiting for, I know I have.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Come on, Bella. We have to go now if we're going to do it," I told her once again.

"I can't leave him, Jasper," Bella said, sitting by our boy's bedside. "Monroe is in a coma."

"Yes," I agreed. "A medically induced coma, he is fine, Bella, and now is the perfect time to go." Bella stayed quiet. "You either make the change now or you wait until after Aro and Eleazar have attacked. It's up to you."

She knew I was right. She wanted to be a vampire for the upcoming fight. She wanted to face Aro in her true form. She wanted to kill him for going against her family and I didn't doubt that she would.

"But Monroe," Bella pleaded me and I let out a sigh.

"He's fine, Bella, you know this. But he's an eleven year old boy and he can't keep still. Carlisle only put him in a medically induced coma so that he can have time to heal his wounds and not pull them open at every instance."

It had been two weeks since Monroe was attacked. I had avoided Emmett the best I could as I didn't want to kill him. It was a simple mistake on his part, but it got my boy hurt. Monroe was doing well in the beginning. The venom had stopped the blood leaking out and Carlisle stitched him up. Monroe was put on bed rest and he did well for the first day and then he began moving, gaining courage, and then he split his stitches, time and time again, re-opening his wound. He was just like his mother in that aspect. We tried everything to keep him still, but it never worked. So as a last resort we put him in a medically induced coma. It had been two days and his skin finally had a chance to heal. Unfortunately his vampire venom had seemingly done all the healing that it wanted to do and the rest of the healing was the equivalent of a human, slow.

In my mind, now was the best time for Bella to change. Monroe was out, Bella would be out. It was the best outcome we could hope for. I trusted the vampires I had appointed guards to Monroe and Montana to do their job and not allow anything like this to happen again. Plus we would have enough time to acclimate Bella before the fight as Alice and Peter put their heads together and told us that it was a little while off yet. It was now or after the fight, Bella's choice.

"The sooner we go, the sooner we can get back," I told her and I could feel her acceptance.

"Okay," she stood up and leaned over Monroe. "I love you, my boy. When I get back I'm going to be changed. I hate to do this when I can't give you a proper goodbye, but I must. I will miss you so much." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"He's happy for you, Mom, excited even," Montana said stepping into the room.

"You can still hear him, even in the state he's in?" Bella asked hopefully.

"Yes, he drifts in and out, but he can still hear everything around him."

My kids, I shook my head. We had asked Montana about the whole mind meld thing and she said that it developed in the womb because they didn't have a way to communicate with each other. It was simply amazing. It was like Edward's gift, but they could only use it on each other and communicate back and forth.

"Dad," Montana said as she hugged me around the waist. "Be cautious and take care of mom for us, okay?"

"You know I will." I hugged her back and then she moved to Bella.

"Stay strong, Mom, and we'll see you when you get back. I can't wait to be able to give you a hug with all my strength."

"Me either," Bella agreed, picking Montana up and giving her a hug.

Bella kissed her and placed her on the bed next to her brother.

"Don't worry about, Monroe," Montana reassured us. "I will look out for him and I won't let anything happen to him."

"I don't doubt that." I smiled at my girl. "But who's going to be looking out for you."

"I will be fine, just go."

There was another round of kisses and hugs before Montana pushed us out the door.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked Bella as I grabbed her hand.

"Yes," Bella answered surely.

I walked out the door and straight to the main room where most of the vampires were sitting.

"Garrett, Kate, you are on Montana duty, do not let her out of your sights, understand? She can leave the room if need be, but she is not to step outside."

"We understand," Garrett replied.

"Go," I told them and they disappeared.

"Rose, Carlisle, you two will be looking after Monroe, the same thing goes, but he is not to leave our room, no matter what. He is safe there and that's where he will stay."

They agreed and left the room too.

"The time has come," I told everyone else, "Bella is set to become a vampire." I gauged everyone's emotions and I got a small pang of jealousy and some disgust from Edward, but he kept quiet. It probably helped that he had Seth on one side and Bree on the other. Everyone else was joyous, but Charlie was sad.

"You're really doing this?" Charlie asked as he came and stood in front of Bella. "We can still run away, Bells, you know this. I'll look after you, I'll protect you."

"Dad, we knew it would come down to this one way or another. I'm just glad it's on my terms."

"I know," Charlie agreed. "I just wish it was fully your decision, not because of James and Victoria."

"Dad," Bella said resting her hand on his cheek. "If James never kidnapped me I would still be here." Charlie didn't believe her, so she continued. "Mom and Phil were getting serious, really serious and I always felt like a third wheel. I had thoughts of running away and coming to live with you, so one way or another I would have ended up in Forks and I would have met Jasper. He's my soul mate, Dad. I cannot live without him, so now I choose to live with him forever."

"You were really thinking of living with me before all this happened?" Charlie asked, his voice soft.

"Yes, Dad, I liked our summers together, I just hated the weather Forks offered."

"Oh," Charlie realized and his emotions shifted slightly. His love for his daughter grew and his self-perception rounded out a little. "Well, change good," Charlie muttered. "I don't know what you're supposed to say when your daughter is becoming a vampire. I'm going to miss you, Bella, but I love that you will be around forever. You can keep an eye on all the future Swan's." He looked over at Sue and smiled proudly at her. Sue was pregnant, but she wasn't showing just yet.

"Thanks, Dad," Bella hugged him tightly and we said our goodbyes.

As we left the house I pulled Bella on to my back. This would be the last time I had to carry her anywhere. I knew Bella would want to be close to the house, so I had the perfect location. I headed into the mountains and as my speed picked up, Bella buried her head into my neck. I would miss moments like these, but I was so thankful for my vampire memory. I wouldn't forget a thing and I could remind Bella of everything.

We hit the spot and I pulled Bella from my back. She gained her bearings and stared up at the wooden cabin in amazement.

"It's Alistair's," I informed her.

"Oh, and here I thought he lived up in a cave or a shack, but he's living in a cabin?" Bella was shocked.

"Yeah, he built it himself from the surrounding trees. He's letting us borrow it. And it's in range of house. I can still feel everyone's emotions so I will be able to check that the kids are okay."

"It's perfect," Bella told me, kissing me deeply.

I grabbed her hand and walked her up the front porch. I opened up the door and it looked like a hunter's shack. It had deer heads mounted on the wall, a big grizzly bear rug on the ground. It looked well lived in and it seemed to fit Alistair perfectly. Bella and I had a quick look around the two room cabin. It was perfect. Once we were done I turned my full attention to Bella.

"How do you want to do this?" I asked her. "Name it and I'll make it yours."

"I just want you to bite me, get it over and done with."

"Okay," I accepted. This worked fine with me. The sooner my venom was in her, the sooner the burn would start and stop.

I led her over to the bed and laid her down in the middle of it.

"I'm going to have to drain you of nearly all your blood and then fill you with my venom." Bella nodded her head shyly. "Where do you want the bite?" I asked her and she smiled.

"On my shoulder," Bella told me as she pulled her shirt down. I smirked. This was the same spot the Major had first tasted her blood, it seemed oddly fitting.

I gauged her emotions and she was beyond ready. I didn't say anything else. I just looked deep in her eyes one last time and leaned forward. I latched on to her shoulder with my teeth and began drinking. I drank her blood slowly, knowing that this would be the last time I would ever be able to taste it. I committed everything to memory so I could recall it whenever I pleased. Her blood ran dry and I began pushing my venom into her. I could feel her discomfort, but she didn't say anything. I pushed as much venom into her as I could and only stopped once it had reached her heart and I could feel the burning begin.

I jumped back and hovered over her. "I love you so fucking much," I told her as I smiled down at her. She opened her mouth, but closed it. The pain was quickly overtaking her. She smiled at me, a lone tear running down her cheek, and then she closed her eyes.

The time passed slowly and my girl didn't even make a sound. She was burning though. I wanted so desperately to take her pain away or at least dull it, but Bella didn't want me too. She said that she needed to feel the full extent of the burn, so that if she ever wanted to change someone in the future she would know exactly how much it hurt. I admired her so much for that. She never took the easy way out.

I spent the next three days on edge. I couldn't keep still. I would lay with her, sit by her, pace the room, all whilst keeping a close eye on her and keeping a close lock on the emotions of my kids. I missed them so much. I missed Bella too. I was basically in hell. I just couldn't wait for this all to be over so I could get back to our life, but I wasn't stupid. I had changed thousands of newborns and it was true they all reacted differently when they woke up, but one thing was always the same, they were savage and only after one thing, blood. I didn't expect Bella to be any different.

Things began changing. Bella's heart finally slowed and the burn was reaching its intensity. It was almost time. I took my position. I kneeled on the ground in front of the bed and rested my ear on my shoulder, presenting my neck to her. This wasn't my usual procedure. I usually instilled fear in the newborns from the start, but this was different. Bella was my mate and I didn't want that kind of relationship with her, we were equals and the sooner she realized that the better.

Her heart beat its last beat and the pain disappeared. I closed my eyes and held my breath, this was it.

I sat and I waited, and then nothing. I opened up my eyes and she was gone. Sneaky fucking thing. I smiled. I loved the chase. I left the cabin and picked up her scent quickly, following her in and out of the mountains. What was she doing? She was playing a game no doubt. I stopped suddenly and scented the air, her trail just disappeared. I spun around looking for her. I heard her snarl before I saw her. She jumped on my back, digging her teeth into my shoulder. I grabbed her and threw her away from me, unfortunately she took my arm with her. I didn't let the pain affect me.

Bella stood up, dangling my arm in front of her. Her face was so fierce, she was almost unrecognizable. She was beautiful and all mine. Bella snapped at me, growling, before she threw my arm at me and took off running. I could feel her purpose and her thirst. Oh no, she was getting a snack. I grabbed my arm and held it back against my shoulder and took off after her, but she was faster than me. If she wasn't a newborn I would have just forgotten my arm, but I knew that I need both of them working to capture her again. She was heading to Calgary and the closer she got to the city the more her thirst increased. I needed to pick up my pace or this would surely end in a bloodbath.

I willed myself to run faster, but then I stopped. Her thirst was disappearing, she had found her meal. I knew that there would be no stopping her now. I started running again, but with less speed. It had now become a clean-up mission. I was too late and Bella had quenched her thirst with the only thing she currently wanted, human blood. I just hoped that she hadn't made too much of a mess and that she wouldn't regret the decision she had made.

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><p><strong>AN- **I decided to cut this chapter in two, so you get an extra chapter.

Bella is finally a vampire, so exciting, and this will probably be a different vampire Bella than you're used to. Just saying.

Leave me a review with your thoughts.


	72. Chapter 72

**A/N- **Thanks for reviewing guys, seriously. I know I say this every chapter, but your reviews really do make me smile and want to keep on writing.

Not much to go now. I'm starting to feel sad, but I won't start talking about the sadness just yet.

Rated M somewhere in the middle for some hot vamp sex. I'll page break it off.

Bella's a vamp…

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

_Bella stood up, dangling my arm in front of her. Her face was so fierce, she was almost unrecognizable. She was beautiful and all mine. Bella snapped at me, growling, before she threw my arm at me and took off running. I could feel her purpose and her thirst. Oh no, she was getting a snack. I grabbed my arm and held it back against my shoulder and took off after her, but she was faster than me. If she wasn't a newborn I would have just forgotten my arm, but I knew that I need both of them working to capture her again. She was heading to Calgary and the closer she got to the city the more her thirst increased. I needed to pick up my pace or this would surely end in a bloodbath. _

_I willed myself to run faster, but then I stopped. Her thirst was disappearing, she had found her meal. I knew that there would be no stopping her now. I started running again, but with less speed. It had now become a clean-up mission. I was too late and Bella had quenched her thirst with the only thing she currently wanted, human blood. I just hoped that she hadn't made too much of a mess and that she wouldn't regret the decision she had made._

I continued heading towards Bella, slowly. I was torn. I was so happy and so proud of her. I always knew she would make a great vampire. But I was also fearful. Her thirst had disappeared completely and that only meant one thing. She had fed and she had fed well. I hit the outskirts of town, the industrial district. I didn't slow. I could smell blood coming from one of the warehouses. It was faint, but it was there. I stood outside and peeked my head around the corner, surveying the damage. There was some blood on the floor, but that was about it. I slipped inside and followed her emotional makeup to one of the back rooms.

I steeled myself before opening the door. I opened it wide and fast, just wanting to know the damage. First I spied my mate in the corner hovering above a worker, her mouth clamped firmly on his neck. Next I noticed at least a dozen guys lying haphazardly on the floor. Bella finally noticed me and her bright red eyes glared at me. She let go of the man she was currently feeding on and she snarled at me. I held my hands up in surrender, showing her I wasn't challenging her and took a few steps back. She eyed me warily before going back to her meal.

I surveyed the damage and once I realized what was going on, it made me smile. Only my mate, only my Bella. My smile turned into a smirk and I crossed my arms firmly, waiting for her to finish her meal. There were twelve guys lying on the floor, but do you know what? None of them were dead, they were all still alive. Their hearts were beating and they were breathing. Only my mate would snack on twelve different humans just to feel full. I was amazed that she had enough control to stop herself and not drain them dry. A dozen, one dozen men were not a problem for my girl.

It looks like she knocked them all out before slicing their necks open with her fingernail and drinking their blood. When they awoke all they would have would be a scratch on their neck. It was brilliant and I suddenly realized just how much thought Bella must have put into feeding. I always knew she wanted to feed on humans and not animals because of what James did to her, but I never put any thought into how she would do it. I never wanted too, but she had.

My lust and pride overtook me and I couldn't rein it in. It hit Bella and she looked up at me. Her face was still fierce, her eyes savage. She had one drop of blood, only one, that ran down her chin and was about to drip. She sensed it and captured it before it had a chance to fall. She brought her finger to her mouth and licked it clean. My lust increased, I couldn't help it. Bella's face changed and she was smirking at me. Her eyes left mine and she looked around the room. I could feel her pride and I noted that she hadn't used her shield yet. I hoped that she no longer felt scared, unable to protect herself without the use of her shield. I hoped now that she was strong and fast that she no longer needed it.

Bella stood and made her way over to me. I took a few steps back, my arms still crossed over my chest. She had yet to initiate contact with me or to talk to me, but I wasn't worried. Her brain was surely in overdrive. She stumbled past me and I turned to watch her. What was she doing now? She tripped over her own feet, but managed to catch herself. She was still getting used to her new vampire-ness it seemed and it was funny to watch, but I kept my emotions locked up tight and my face blank. I did not want nor need to piss off a newborn vampire.

Bella was determined as she rummaged through the warehouse. I let her be. She wasn't harming anyone, the workers were still knocked out cold and no one else was in the area. I finally felt her relief and she came back towards me, walking back to the room. I turned once again, watching her closely. She had a gas cylinder in her hand. What was she doing? Bella shut the door, but left it open a crack. She ripped the top of the gas cylinder off and aimed the gas into the room. She allowed just enough inside to make the room smell like gas before she closed the door and took off running, gas bottle in hand. I just stood there shocked. Not only had she fed, but she had covered up her kill… well her hunt. I still couldn't get over how she didn't kill the men. No newborn I had ever met or trained had that much control.

It took a second, but it soon clicked that my mate had left. I picked my jaw up from the ground and gave chase once again. I could see her in the distance. She threw the gas bottle into a body of water, never stopping. I shook my head. She was mine, all mine. How did I get so lucky? As we ran back I thought on why she was so controlled and I realized it could be many things. The venom she ingested. The fact that she knew she would become a vampire and she had time to prepare herself. Just her. Maybe she was just special. She did manage to give birth to two hybrids and survive. I didn't know the answer and I found I didn't care.

Bella followed her exact path back to Alistair's cabin and stopped in front of it. She was waiting for me. I broke through the trees just after her and stood a few yards in front of her. We just stood there, staring at each other. Usually I would wait. I never spoke or acted first, but this was different.

"Can you speak?" I asked her. Bella scrunched up her face before shrugging her shoulders. "Can you try?" I asked and she just shrugged her shoulders again. "Do you know who I am?" I asked instead. Bella titled her head to the side and looked at me intently before shrugging her shoulders once again.

I wasn't worried with her responses or there lack of. She had only just made the change. Her head was a minefield right now. Trying to re-make all the connections she had once before and making all the new ones that she needed. Now that she was fed and no longer consumed by the burn of thirst, she was calming down and able to think more clearly.

"I need to hunt," I told her. "Come with me."

I didn't wait for her to respond, I just took off running. I hadn't hunted for a few days and I wanted to sync my feeds with my mate so we could hunt together always. I headed deep into the mountains, Bella was following me. Good. I knew what I wanted to kill, bear. My heart panged painfully at the thought of my boy back at home. Unconscious, healing, forever scarred. I would take my revenge the only way that I could, on the species that did this to my son, the bear. I pushed the thought of my children away, I would see them soon enough. Bella wouldn't harm them, I was positive of that. She would recognize that they were vampires, weak vampires, but vampires.

I found a cave and I knew I had hit the jackpot. I didn't stop. I launched myself into the cave and found three bears, two adults and a cub. I killed the first, snapped its neck. I grabbed the cub and threw it outside to Bella. We would get our revenge for our boy. I grabbed the next bear before it could swipe me and jumped onto its back, sinking my teeth in and draining it dry. I grabbed the dead bear and sunk my teeth in. Once I was finished I pushed it to the side, next to its mate. I made my way outside to see what Bella had done with the cub.

What I found I would never had expected in a million years. Bella had the cub and was holding it protectively. As I stepped closer she began her warning growl. I stopped.

"You don't kill them if they have a cub," Bella snarled at me. She was so angry, but I guess she could talk after all. "Now this little guy has no one."

"So?" I questioned. "Kill it."

"No!" she roared before calming down enough to speak. "This is the same as the bears trying to kill our son. Exactly the same."

She was right, but it was just a fucking bear. It wasn't our son. Goddamnit. Fucking Bella. I was no better than the fucking bears who tried to kill my son. What the fuck was I supposed to do now? The cub couldn't survive on its own. We needed to kill it, but one look at Bella being a mama bear and I knew this wasn't an option. Fucking hell. I let out a growl of my own. I guess now we had a dog and a bear. I knew I could argue that keeping the bear wasn't a good idea because of Monroe, but I knew that wouldn't be the case. Monroe was too much like his mother. I doubt he would hate all bears just because two attacked him.

I turned on my heel, just wanting to leave all this behind me. I had left the scene, but as I turned around I knew it was following me. Bella was on my tail, bear in her arms. It was only a small little thing I noticed, a newborn bear if you will. He couldn't be that old as Bella was firmly holding him in her arms. Well I was assuming it was a boy, I had no idea though. The bear cub was afraid of Bella and unsuccessfully clawed at her skin trying to get away, but about halfway back to the ranch it gave up hope and seemed to fall asleep. That or it was wisely playing dead.

"Why are we heading to the ranch?" Bella snapped at me.

"Because I fucking miss our kids," I snapped back.

I could feel Bella's agreement. She increased her speed to join my side and stopped suddenly. I stopped too.

"You hold him," Bella told me as she thrust the bear at me. I didn't want to hold it, but I grabbed it off her anyway. Her smirk was back and she took off towards the house. "Bear suits you," Bella grunted out roughly.

I looked at the bear in my arms. It was still asleep, or playing dead. I pulled one of its eyelids open and its eye darted around, yep, it was definitely trying to play dead. It was a lost cause though, but then again, we weren't killing it. I still couldn't understand how we were stuck with the bear. Bella was a few steps in front of me. I could kill it. Snap its neck. She wouldn't be able to stop me. I'll just grab it-

"Stop!" Bella roared and she was on top of me. The bear had 'woken' up and was trying to get free. "Don't you dare!"

We were close to the ranch now and I had no doubt that someone would come running.

"Don't tell me what to fucking do!" I roared back.

As suspected, someone did show up, Peter. He was sticking to the tree line, trying to avoid us, but we both knew he was there.

"Peter," Bella spoke and he cautiously made his way over to us. "Take the bear please." I could feel Peter's confusion, but he did as he was told and grabbed the bear cub out of my arms. "Now leave us!"

Peter hesitated and I sent him some reassurance. It was all he needed and he left us be. Once he was gone, Bella dug her knees into my side painfully.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to do this," Bella hissed as she bent down and bit me on the neck hard. Damn that hurt, but it also felt so good.

I knocked her off me, pouncing on top of her, resting my full weight on her chest. This was so good. I didn't need to hold back, not anymore. I grabbed her left hand and brought her forearm to my mouth, biting down hard just below the inside of her elbow. Instinctually I sucked hard, trying to get to her blood, but all I got was her venom. It was sweet, but it just wasn't the same. I huffed and dropped her arm. Bella pushed me off her. Grabbing my hair and pulling me further into the forest. I allowed her.

"This is going to be quick and hard," Bella's hoarse voice washed over me. "And it's probably going to be painful."

I didn't say anything, but inside I was singing. Rough sex with my mate, finally. Bella seemed to want to be in charge, so I allowed her. She pushed me up against a tree and ripped my shirt from my body. I pushed her away from me and managed to get us both undressed without ripping any more of our clothes. We still needed to make it back to the ranch yet and I would prefer to be wearing clothes.

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><p>Once we were both naked, Bella pushed me back up against the tree. I got tired of her games and tackled her to the ground. We rolled down an embankment and landed in a stream, but that didn't stop us. I attached my mouth to hers and I assaulted her with my tongue. She fought back and I have no idea who won. I pulled away from her, moving down and biting her nipple hard. Her venom ran into my mouth and she began grinding on my leg. I let out a growl. I couldn't wait much longer. I lined myself up and I drove home. Bella let out the loudest guttural scream I had ever heard and I stilled for a moment.<p>

Her eyes had rolled back in her head, but once they focused back on mine I began to move. I showed her no mercy. I pumped into her as hard as I could. I grabbed her hair in my hand and pulled hard. She hissed, punching me in the side and rolling us over. We were still in the stream, but now Bella was on top and she was riding me hard. She was so beautiful. I reached up and grabbed her breasts, pulling the nipples hard. Her head fell backwards and she screamed out my name. Oh yeah. I let go and ran my hands down to her hips, lifting her up, so I could set the ridiculously fast pace to send us both over the edge.

I pushed into her as hard and fast as I could. I was so close, as was she. I pushed to go faster, but it was impossible. I took our combined lust and love on board and then pushed it out, surrounding both of us with it. That was all it took, we both groaned before calling out each other's names in the height of our release. I kept the emotions flowing, allowing our orgasms to continue for longer than normal. It was bliss and I was completely happy. Bella whimpered and I finally pulled all the emotions back. She fell onto my chest, burying her head, and I wrapped my arms tightly around her.

"I love you, Jasper," Bella said, completely out of breath. Not that she needed the oxygen to breathe.

"I fucking love you," I replied as I held her to me tighter.

I don't know how long we lay there, completely joined, just enjoying each other and the new chapter of our life, but we soon realized that we had to move on. Bella's longing hit me and it matched my own. It had been almost four days since we had seen our children and we missed them dearly. Bella got to get off me, but I pulled her back down and kissed her sweetly. I could feel her smile as she kissed me back. I let go of her and she got up. I slid from her and I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something. I watched her clamber up the small hill we had rolled down. I didn't move. I just wanted to stay in this moment forever.

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><p>Bella appeared fully dressed, looking down at me. I could feel her impatience, so I reluctantly got up and joined her. I threw my pants on and reached for my shirt. It was ripped in two, but it was still better than nothing. Once I was dressed, Bella held her hand out to me and I grabbed it. We ran off towards the house, but the closer we got the more I could feel Bella's concern. I stopped us just at the tree line.<p>

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing," she smiled shyly at me. "I just want to see our kids."

"Hold on," I told her. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and sent a message to Garrett to clear our room. I waited for his reply and once I had it, I picked Bella up and ran for the house. Opening up the front door and not stopping until I was safely in our room. The door closed behind us. I put Bella down and we just stood there. She was nervous. I gave her a gentle push in the back and she stepped forward cautiously.

I sensed the room and I could feel Monroe and Montana up the far end, on our bed. I allowed Bella to lead, following her closely. We made it into the far room and I looked over Bella's shoulder. Monroe was propped up in our bed. He had no shirt on, but he was awake and I could see that his wounds were healing nicely. Montana was at his side, holding onto his hand tightly. I stopped at the end of the bed and we all watched Bella, waiting to see what she would do. She was just staring at our children, looking at them. Nothing was said. Maybe she just needed time to warm up to them, like she did with me.

I could feel Bella's panic and my face fell. The twins were confused, but they didn't say anything. Next thing I know, Bella has left my side and left the room completely. I frowned.

"Is mommy okay?" Monroe asked me and I wanted to hug him. My boy was awake again.

"Yes," I answered. "She's still adjusting, but she is okay."

Montana stayed silent. I was debating whether to run after Bella, but she was still close by so I decided not to. Minutes ticked by and then I could feel her returning. I turned to face her just in case. She came through the door, bear in hand. I had temporarily forgotten about the bear. Why did she go and get it now? I allowed her to proceed, but I watched her closely. She stopped at the end of the bed and sat the bear down. The bear saw this as his chance and he scampered away from Bella and me and nestled in between Monroe and Montana.

I watched Monroe carefully, gauging his reaction. He was shocked at first and wary. He looked down at the small bear, which seemed to be trying to bury its head in my boy's side. It had only been two and a half weeks since Monroe had been attacked, but he seemed fine. I admired his courage. He reached out and put his arm around the bear, patting it gently.

"Where did you get a bear?" his small voice washed over us.

"Your dad stupidly killed its parents," Bella answered, sitting down on the end of the bed and putting her hand around Monroe's ankle.

"Mom," Montana said gently.

"Yeah, baby?"

"Can I hug you please?" Montana asked.

"No," Bella answered, she was feeling sad. "Not just yet."

"Why?" Monroe asked confused, hugging the bear to him tightly. It reminded me of a small child with one of those stuffed teddy bears, except this was a real bear.

"Because now it's my turn no to crush you," Bella told them gently. "I'm okay, I'm still me, I promise. My head's just messed up at the moment and everything has been amplified, my senses, my speed and strength, my love, everything. I need to be careful, just for a little while, but I'm here and I'm okay," she reassured them both.

Monroe and Montana relaxed a little, but they were still cautious.

"What are you going to call the bear?" Bella asked them, trying to slowly get back into the swing of things.

Monroe and Montana looked closely at each other, they were communicating telepathically. "Teddy," they both answered at the same time.

I scoffed. Teddy? As in Teddy Bear? Oh yeah that was original. Now we had a bear cub called Teddy and a Siberian Husky called Wolf. I just hoped the kids never had children of their own to name because heaven forbid.

"Ignore him," Bella told the twins. "He's still mad that I brought the bear home with us."

"I like it," Monroe told us quietly. "Thanks, Mama."

"Oh, Monroe," Bella said, breaking down. "I'm so glad you're okay."

I put my arm around my mate and held her close. All of us were on high alert in one way or another, but I couldn't be any happier. Bella was finally a vampire, she was indestructible. Sure we still had a fight on the horizon, but that hardly mattered, not anymore. My mate had finally hit her full potential and she had surpassed all of my expectations. Her control was beyond what it should be and that made things easier. It may take a few weeks, months even, but I had no doubt that Bella would become a fierce vampire and I couldn't wait to see that day.

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><p><strong>AN- **So what do you think of vamp Bella?

Don't forget I have a new Bella/Jasper story called, **Let's Get Ethical**, go check it out. I think you'll enjoy it.

Review.


	73. Chapter 73

**A/N- **Thanks for the reviews, so awesome.

Third last chapter… Most likely.

Enjoy.

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

"Again," I prompted my mate. We had begun her training immediately. She needed to know how to control her strength, speed, and emotions before she was allowed to touch our kids. It wasn't really necessary. I knew she wouldn't hurt them, but you always get faster results when you have a good incentive. Bella just wanted to hug her kids, so she was working as hard as possible.

Bella grabbed another ice chip and held it between her thumb and forefinger, attempting not to crush it. She was doing well. She put it in the bowl and grabbed another piece, repeating the process. Once she had transferred all the ice, I moved her on to the next object, Doritos tortilla chips. If she could handle these without crushing them then she was be doing good because I knew they broke easily. I sat the bowl in front of her and she grabbed the first chip. She grabbed it too tightly and the corner broke off.

"You can do this, Mama," Monroe said encouragingly. He was sitting at the kitchen table with us. His wounds had healed, the skin was now back together, but he had to be careful because it was still tender. So he was ordered to stay strictly in our sights at all times.

Bella grabbed another tortilla chip and this one didn't break. Her confidence grew and she quickly finished transferring the chips from one bowl to another. She was ready for the next task. I grabbed a stack of paper, Esme had gotten it for me, and sat it in front of her. "Make a paper airplane," I told her with a smirk. I remembered her making one when she was human and she was pretty good at it. Bella took on my challenge and swiftly folded the paper. She never even made a mistake or ripped the paper.

"Muscle memory," Bella told me as she held up the paper plane for me to see.

"Wow, cool. Can I have it, Mama?"

"Of course, Monroe." Bella handed it to him and he greedily accepted it. Monroe went to throw it, but he did exactly what I had done and threw it too hard. It went a few feet before hitting the ground. I picked up the plane and went over to my boy.

"Here," I told Monroe as I positioned the plane in between his fingers. "Now, you've got to throw it upwards and use only a little force." I pulled his hand back and pushed it forward. He got the idea and I let him go. Monroe pulled his hand back and repeated my movements. It gained lift and flew across the room.

"Awesome!" Monroe laughed. Jumping up from the table and running to fetch it.

"Be careful," I warned him when I could feel some discomfort from him.

"You remember that?" Bella asked me.

"How could I forget the day I got beat by a girl, a human girl at that. I remember thinking that day that making paper airplanes was so simple and easy, and then, well you know the rest."

"Yep," Bella agreed. "Your complicated paper planes went nowhere and my awesome plane flew across the room."

"And then some," I agreed.

"Are we done with these tests, Jasper? I feel completely in control."

"Okay," I accepted.

"Okay?" She didn't seem to believe me. I had been working her pretty hard, but I just wanted to be sure that she understood her new abilities completely.

"Yes," I told her.

"Yes!" Monroe announced, dropping the paper plane on the floor and launching himself into his mother's arms.

"Be careful," I went to tell him, but he didn't even listen.

I watched carefully as Bella hugged Monroe to her. I could feel her calm down and she finally felt completely at ease for the first time since her change. It was good to see.

"I love you, Mama, and I'm glad I now have you forever."

"Me too, my boy, me too. How about we go and see what your sister's doing and surprise her with a hug?"

I could feel Monroe's reluctance, but he pulled away from Bella regardless. How much my boy loved and cared for others still shocked me on a daily basis, he was the least selfish person I knew.

"Can we take Teddy Bear too?" Monroe asked referring to our newly acquired pet.

"Sure," Bella answered.

Monroe's excitement grew and he ran into his room and grabbed Bear, or Teddy, or Ted, or Theodore as Garrett had begun calling him. It had only been a few days, but the bear had a million names.

"All ready?" Bella asked as Monroe appeared, cradling Ted in his arms like a baby, it was cute. Ted was still wary around us vamps, but he seemed to adore Monroe and Montana and was never far from their sides.

We made our way out of our room and it was so good to be able to roam free with our kids in our house. Kate had stayed true to her word and was even helping us plan against the fight with her family. I could tell the upcoming fight upset her, but at this point it couldn't be avoided. Bella and I had wronged both Eleazar and Aro. Eleazar we basically fake killed because he revealed Bella's gift to everyone. And Aro, well, I guess we kind of fucked up his life by breaking all the false bonds he had created. In hindsight, we made a mistake. Eleazar used to live in Volterra, he was a part of the Volturi guard, and well, one plus one equals two. It was an oversight we would not make again.

As we entered the main room my eyes went straight to Kate and Garrett. They were sitting on the couch in each other's arms. Montana was sitting beside them reading a book out loud to Garrett. It sounded like Emma by Jane Austen. My smart girl did love to read, and even more, she loved to read out loud to anyone who would listen. I stopped with Monroe and allowed Bella to approach her. Montana noticed her and stopped reading.

"Hey," Garrett grumbled. He was completely lost in the story it seemed.

Bella didn't say anything, she just opened up her arms. Montana dropped the book, which somehow hit Garrett in the face, and she launched herself into her mother's arms. Bella hugged her daughter tightly, her love shining through. They hugged for a long time, neither wanting to let go. I could feel Monroe's sadness, he was feeling left out. Next thing I know, Monroe's shoved Ted into my arms and jumped over to join in the group hug. As soon as Ted was in my arms he began to struggle. I walked straight over to Garrett and handed him off.

"Theodore," Garrett said happily, holding the bear out to look at him. "You're growing fast. Look, Katie." I was so glad to have Kate back and if the smile on Garrett's face was anything to go by then he was happy as well. "I'm a scary bear, rawr!"

I rolled my eyes. Everyone seemed fine with the bear except me. Well, there's was still Emmett. Emmett hadn't met Ted yet because he was avoiding me. I had told him that it was fine, that I forgave him for talking about his bear attack in front of the twins, but he still couldn't handle it. He blamed himself for Monroe's attack, yet he hadn't come by and visited my boy to see that he was fine. Sure he had a large, visible scar, but it didn't seem to bother him at all. He was stronger than me in that aspect as I always despised my scars. I needed to fix all this. I sent Emmett a text, _Get your ass in the main room now, Emmett, that's an order_.

It didn't take long before I saw Emmett enter the room, Rose by his side. He looked so sad. I knew he was still beating himself up about Monroe. I walked over to him and he shied away from me, almost trying to hide behind Rose. Well that was my fault. I did try and kill him, but with a semi-good reason. I met Rose's eyes and motioned for her to leave us. She understood, but had to rip her hand out of Emmett's tight grip. Emmett was looking down so I crouched until we met eyes before standing up tall, making sure his eyes stayed on mine. Once we were both at our full height and our eyes were locked I spoke.

"Emmett, I forgive you," I began. "It was a silly mistake on your part and you really do need to learn that what you say in front of the kids could be taken many ways. I don't blame you anymore, it could have happened to any of us. Look," I told him as I turned and motioned to Monroe, "Monroe's fine. He's okay, and he doesn't blame you at all. I know you probably think that this incident scarred him and physical it did, but emotionally he's strong. Trust me on that." I could tell that Emmett still didn't believe me, but he was listening to me and that was a start. "Monroe, get Ted off Garrett and come over here." I could feel Emmett's confusion. He looked up and watched Monroe as he grabbed the bear cub from Garrett and made his way over here.

Emmett was still shocked, but I could feel a small piece of excitement and hope running through him.

"Hey, Emmy," Monroe said as he stood before Emmett. Emmett was softening up already. "I really am okay, see?" Monroe grabbed Ted in one arm and pulled down his shirt to show off his scar. "It's healing. I really don't blame you. I just heard your story about fighting the bear and you sounded so courageous and strong. I don't know, but I thought I could go and find a bear, fight it, and win, just for you. You would have finally beaten the bear, but I didn't understand that I don't exactly become indestructible until I reach my full age, if I had known… Well I probably would have still done it," Monroe finished off with a smile. Emmett was slowly coming back to us. "This is Teddy," Monroe said proudly. "Mommy got him for us because daddy killed his parents. Do you want to hold him?"

Monroe held the bear out to Emmett. Emmett was wary, but his excitement was increasing. Emmett turned his focus to me.

"May I?" he asked permission.

"It's not my bear," I replied before walking away.

"Do you know what kind of a bear this is?" I heard Emmett ask Monroe as I went to join Bella's side.

"No, what kind?" Monroe replied excitedly.

"It's a grizzly bear and you know what? They were completely eliminated out of the Rocky Mountains due to human settlement, but they have been steadily re-introduced." I tuned them out. I now knew more about bears in the Rocky Mountains than I ever cared to.

I put my arms around Bella and looked to my other child. She was sitting back on the couch next to Garrett, reading Emma quietly to him. It was a good sight to see. Kate was focused on Garrett, love and happiness radiating from her. Garrett was focused on Montana's words. And Montana was solely focused on the book. It was the calm before the storm. Literally. I could feel Peter's panic and he was getting closer to the ranch quickly. I took one last look at everyone. They were all peaceful and happy, but that was soon to change. I grabbed Bella's hand tightly and the front door flew open. This was it, I just knew it.

Peter jumped from the ground floor straight up to the main room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Peter.

"They're coming," is all he said and then he jumped back down.

"Okay," I announced and everyone turned their attention to me. We had discussed this before. We knew what we had to do. "Everyone staying, Monroe, Montana, Sue, Charlie, Leah and Alice, you are to stay up in our room and keep the door locked. No one is to enter or leave until I send the code word, which only I know, to Charlie and then Charlie will open the door. Go now!"

No one argued with me, they knew how serious this was. We were under attack and it wasn't a time to play games.

"Kate, you're up. Stay strong, but if they start getting close, leave your post." Kate jumped up and left the room. Kate was our first line of defense. We had set up a fence around the perimeter of our ranch, just a high wire fence, no one would think anything of it, but when you combined the metal on the fence with Kate's electricity, well, it was a good vampire deterrent.

A moment later we heard the electricity crackle and we knew that the fence was live. I turned my attention to everyone else.

"Seth, Bree, Edward, Southside. Carlisle, Esme, courtyard. Charlotte, find Peter and back him up. We will be out there soon. Emmett, Rose, take the North. Maggie, if it's safe, run up to Alistair's cabin and make sure he's okay, warn him." Everyone left to do as they were told. I turned my attention to the two that were left, Bella and Garrett. "Are we ready for this?" I asked.

"Yes," Garrett replied confidently.

"Do we have to kill them all?" Bella asked. She didn't like fighting and I could tell if there was a way out of this with no bloodshed then Bella would have found it, but she hadn't because there was none.

"Yes," I answered. "We must take out Aro and Eleazar because they have made this a fight. If either of them were to live then they would never stop trying to get their revenge. With Eleazar dead we must killed his mate Carmen or she will avenge him. Irina is to be killed because she's the reason we got into this mess in the first place. The only person we can possibly save is Tanya, but we'll have to play it by ear. Now let's go."

I led the way out of the house and immediately sensed the area. Everyone was in their places. I stretched my gift out further trying to pick up what direction they were going to hit us from. We were somewhat blind, not knowing if they had made reinforcements or if they were just coming here on their own. But with Aro being involved we couldn't put anything past them. I caught a flicker of emotion to my right and took off running, but I stopped suddenly. They were also to our left and behind us, they were surrounding us.

I closed my eyes, sensing everyone's positions, making sure we surrounded, but then things began happening. One domino fell and it started a chain reaction. Someone had gotten past our electric fence and gotten to Kate. With the barrier down we were less protected. I turned to Garrett just in time to see his face twist with pain and him run off to where Kate was stationed. It was then that I realized that Kate had been killed. I stretched my gift out, trying to work out who had killed her. It was Aro. It looks like he was finally getting his hands dirty. I search for Kate's emotional makeup, but it wasn't there anymore, it was gone. Garrett must have hit the scene because I heard a pained snarl before seeing smoke up in the air. We had lost one. How many more would we lose?

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I desperately wanted to ignore it, but I couldn't. I pulled it out, not checking who it was and answered it. "What?"

The person on the other end took a long time to speak, but they eventually did and what they said made me die a million deaths. "It's Montana, she used her shield and slipped out."

I don't know who broke the news to me, it wasn't important. The phone slid out of my hand and fell to the ground. Bella heard the news and her emotions were suffocating me. I blocked her from me. I turned around frantically. Montana, my baby girl, my angel, was out here on the battlefield. Where was she? Why did she leave? She knew how dangerous this fight was going to be. She promised me. She would never break her promise unless she had a good reason to. I looked everywhere. I tried sensing her, but she was nowhere. Where was she?

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><p><strong>AN- **Oh yes, I did just leave it there, sorry, but I had to force at least one more cliffhanger into this story.

Only two chapters to go.

Review.


	74. Chapter 74

**A/N- **You guys are the best.

Montana's on the battlefield…

Enjoy

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><p><strong>JPOV<strong>

_My phone vibrated in my pocket and I desperately wanted to ignore it, but I couldn't. I pulled it out, not checking who it was and answered it. "What?"_

_The person on the other end took a long time to speak, but they eventually did and what they said made me die a million deaths. "It's Montana, she used her shield and slipped out." _

_I don't know who broke the news to me, it wasn't important. The phone slid out of my hand and fell to the ground. Bella heard the news and her emotions were suffocating me. I blocked her from me. I turned around frantically. Montana, my baby girl, my angel, was out here on the battlefield. Where was she? Why did she leave? She knew how dangerous this fight was going to be. She promised me. She would never break her promise unless she had a good reason to. I looked everywhere. I tried sensing her, but she was nowhere. Where was she?_

I was vaguely aware of my mate taking charge. Bella picked up my phone from the ground and began talking.

"Did anyone else follow her out?" she asked.

"No," came Charlie's response. "Jasper told us not to leave the room. We called you as soon as it happened."

"Good," Bella told them. "You did good. Stay there and do not leave, no matter what." Bella hung up the phone and turned her attention to me. "Jasper, snap out of it," she told me before hitting me across the face. "Montana is out here," she closed her eyes briefly before opening them again, "but there's nothing we can do about that, not now. She has her shield and we know she's not stupid." I could tell that Bella was struggling with this, but she was right. We couldn't focus on her right now. The damage had already been done. We needed to focus on the fight or we would lose.

Maggie came running back over to us. "Alistair isn't there," she informed us.

I took charge.

"Maggie, Montana's out here. Keep an eye out for her and join Carlisle and Esme. Do not speak a word of this to anyone though, okay?"

"Yes, Major," she answered and she headed for the North.

I closed my eyes and sensed the area, searching for Aro. I couldn't find him, had he fallen or did he have a shield? I sensed the area for Eleazar. I could feel him near the trio. "Bella," I turned my attention to her. "Go and help Edward, Bree and Seth, Eleazar's attacking them. I'm going to go to Kate's post and check on Aro and Garrett."

Bella nodded her head and we took off running, in opposite directions. I made it to Kate's post and it was completely up in flames. I could see body parts scattered everywhere, but they were too badly burnt to tell who they were. I closed my eyes again and focused on my gift. I took stock of everyone, where they were, how they were feeling. Everyone was fine, but Garrett… He was gone. I turned back to the flames, searching for a clue. Had he died in battle? Did he sacrifice himself because Kate had died? I looked back and forth and then I spotted it and it crushed me. At the edge of the fire was Garrett's black, metal chain necklace. He was always wearing it. My emotions overtook me. I had fought with Garrett many times and he had never lost.

My eyes turned black and the red haze overtook me. Garrett was my friend and now he was dead. No one would survive, not today. I grabbed his necklace from the flames and pocketed it. I took off to the right. I came across a few newborns, they were fresh, too fresh. I killed them easily. I kept circling around our house, killing everyone who got in my way. I reached Esme, Carlisle and Maggie, they were dealing with two newborns and Irina was lurking in the shadows. I went straight for Irina, taking her by surprise, ripping her head off in one go. I threw it towards the fire Esme was building and it hit the flames. I quickly ripped the rest of her apart and threw her to the flames before taking off again. I hit Rose and Emmett next, they were dealing with one newborn, so I left them be. Next I hit the trio and my mate, they had three newborns and Eleazar.

I watched on as one of the newborns got to Seth, who was in wolf form, and smashed his leg. Seth cried out in pain and turned back into human form. Edward and Bree looked at him concerned, anger rippling through them. They both let out a murderous snarl before going back to the enemy. I was going to run in and save Seth, but Bella extended her shield and placed it around the boy, protecting him from any further attacks.

I took off running again, reaching Peter and Charlotte. They had ten newborns surrounding them. It wasn't a problem for them, but I was still beyond angry. I jumped into the fight and we worked together just like we used to in the old days, flawlessly. They soon fell, every single one of them. I stepped away, ready to assess the current situation when Tanya came out of the forest all alone and approached us.

She walked right up to us, no fear, and dropped to her knees. She was feeling defeated.

"Kill me," she pleaded.

"Why?" I questioned her.

"My sisters are dead, both of them. I have nothing to live for anymore. Our bond was like that of a mate…" she got choked up. "I have nothing. Death is the only answer for me. I didn't want to fight, I only came to protect Kate, but I failed. Kill me please, slowly, painfully, fast. I do not care, just end my suffering please." Tanya dropped her head, closing her eyes, presenting her neck to me.

I wanted to kill her, but I found that I couldn't. I knew that it was the right decision, but I just couldn't do it.

"I'll do it," Peter told me as he clapped me on the shoulder. "I'll do it," he repeated and I could feel his resolve.

"Thank you," I whispered to him. That was Peter, my friend, always saving me from myself.

I took off running, heading back towards the ranch. I stopped at the back and reached out with my gift, everyone had finished their battles except for Bella. I looked up and found her just as she grabbed Eleazar's head and tossed it into the fire. Bella watched as he burned. I watched too and as I did, my emotions began calming down and then everything hit me. Montana, there was no sign of her. I willed my heart not to break. Everyone slowly made their way over to me and stood in front of me. Bella joined my side. Everyone began looking around, surveying the injuries, the loss.

I took charge, glancing at Seth who was writhing in pain in Edward's arms. His leg was clearly broken, I didn't know if he had any other injuries. I turned my attention back to the group. I called out all the Denali coven's names and Aro's, getting confirmation that they had all been killed. Everyone was confirmed dead, everyone, but Aro. I was sure he was dead, but with Kate and Garrett gone I had no proof. Now…

"We have two confirmed losses," I told everyone, keeping the emotion out of my voice. "Every fight, every war, there is always loss, on both sides, remember this. Kate and Garrett were killed, but we will honor them by living our lives and making the vampire world a better place. We will learn from the mistakes made today and the mistakes that led up to this day. We will not let this happen again." I paused, taking everyone's sadness and grief on board. "During the battle, Montana escaped the house and has not been seen since. Has anyone seen her? Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?"

Nobody answered, but Emmett's grief was overtaking him and he let out a sob.

"I have hope that she got scared and she's hiding under her shield somewhere…" I let the sentence peter off. My girl was anything but a coward. I didn't think she was hiding under her shield. If she was, she would have shown herself by now. "We need to join the others. Get our wounds attended to."

I said no more and turned to leave, Bella followed me, placing her shield around both of us.

"Where is she?" Bella asked me, her voice small.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"Do you think she's still alive?"

"I don't know." I tried to keep the emotion out of my voice, but I couldn't.

"Let's see Monroe, perhaps he will know why she left, maybe he will be able to hear her still, just like when Montana could hear him when he was unconscious."

I felt a small glimmer of hope. I grabbed Bella's hand tightly and we made our way back to the house. We went straight for our room. Monroe would have the answer. As we hit the door, Bella handed me my phone and I sent the code word to Charlie. The door opened and my eyes found Monroe's immediately and my face fell. I grabbed Bella and held her to me tightly. Monroe's face was blank, his sadness was blanketing the room. Montana, she was gone. I wanted to hold out hope, but how could I? Monroe looked broken. I let go of Bella and walked over to my boy, kneeling in front of him. He didn't speak or move. I rested my hands on his knees. He finally met my eyes.

"I can't hear her," he muttered. "I've always been able to hear her."

That was it for me. I broke down, bringing my boy into a hug and holding him to me tightly. Bella quickly joined us and we all let it out. Montana was gone. How did this happen? Why did this happen? Surely she was still alive, hiding somewhere, surely. I pulled away and looked at the door. Surely it would open and she'd walk right in, surely… It never opened. I don't know how much time passed, but I needed to do something, anything. I walked into the twins' room and my heart broke for the millionth time. Ted was snuggled up on Montana's bed like he knew what had happened. I picked him up and for once he didn't fight me. I took Ted straight over to Monroe.

"Here," I told my boy and he grabbed Ted from me. "Now is a time to be strong," I told Monroe and myself. "Montana wouldn't want us to do nothing. We are not the only ones who lost someone. We need to go and check on everyone else. Come."

I held out my hand and Monroe grabbed it.

"We need to be strong," I told Bella. I knew she wasn't doing too good right now. "We can break down later, when we're alone," I whispered to her in a promise.

She nodded her head weakly.

We walked out of our room, holding hands. We needed to be strong for everyone else. We entered the main room and everyone's eyes were on us, I could feel their hope. I didn't say anything, I just shook my head no, and everyone's emotions hit me like a freight train. The grief and sadness was too much to handle. I gripped Bella's hand tighter and one look at my face and she knew what was happening. She shielded me. Once everyone's emotions were gone I could breathe easily once again. Monroe left my side and went to sit next to Emmett. One look at Emmett and you could tell that he wasn't dealing with the loss too well.

Monroe held Ted out to Emmett and he took it from him, holding it to him tightly. Rose was by his side, hugging him tightly. I needed a distraction. I pulled away from Bella and her shield and set about finding Seth. He was in one of the rooms off to the side. Edward and Bree were with him and Carlisle and Sue were working on his leg.

"How is he?" I asked quietly.

"He's going to live," Carlisle answered. "His leg is broken and I expect he has a few broken ribs, but he will heal with time."

That was good news. We didn't need to lose another. I headed back for the main room. I wanted to be surrounded by my family. I still didn't want to believe that my angel was dead. I sat down on one of the armchairs and Bella sat in my lap. I pulled Garrett's necklace out of my pocket and played with it absentmindedly. We had not only lost Montana, but Garrett and Kate as well. I couldn't help but blame myself, but that wasn't true, it was all Irina's fault, no Eleazar's.

If Eleazar never revealed Bella's gift then Irina wouldn't have known Bella was a shield, so she wouldn't have sought the Volturi's help to avenge her mate, Laurent. We never would have gone to Volterra and challenged them. We never would have ruled the Americas. None of this would have happened, but life doesn't work like that because if none of that happened then I wouldn't have two beautiful children either, well one now. Maybe Bella and I still would have gotten pregnant, maybe in the alternative version Montana never existed. The thought of that made me feel sick. I was so glad to have met her for the short time that we had her. She would always be my angel.

I don't know how long we all sat there for. Hours. It soon became dark, but no one moved, we were all holding each other together. Grieving together. I kept a close eye on my son, he was doing as good as could be expected. His sadness was affecting us all, but it mirrored what we were all feeling, so it didn't really matter. Monroe and Emmett were trying to distract themselves with Ted, or Theodore as Garrett like to call him. I moved Garrett's necklace faster around my fingers.

"Stop," Bella told me, placing her hand on top of mine and stilling my movements. She said no more and I put the necklace back in my pocket. I looked up to Peter, he was holding Charlotte to him tightly. He was like me. When things got tough, when people died, we stayed quiet. We tried to deal with everything all on our own.

I couldn't help thinking about what happened to my daughter. Who killed her? Did she burn or was her body still out there? Someone should go look. I would, but I don't think I could handle it. Maybe Maggie could, she's so strong. Could I ask this of her, for her to look for the body of my dead daughter? No, I couldn't. The front door opened and my hope rose, but it soon dropped when I sensed Alistair. We all listened as he climbed up the stairs and when he reached the main room no one looked to him.

"You left something in my cabin," Alistair said and he didn't sound pleased at all.

"Alistair, not now, please," I pleaded him and he turned to leave.

I had heard he was a coward, never fought a fight in his life, he always avoided them. I had no doubt that he stayed away from this fight intentionally. Maybe if he was there we wouldn't have lost so many.

"Okay," he accepted, turning to leave. "I will keep it then... Blonde hair, brown eyes, sweet little thing."

"Alistair!" I pleaded him, but then his words registered with me, but I didn't dare to hope. "Montana?" I questioned and he turned back around.

"I don't know her name," he admitted.

"Is she okay?" I just had to know.

"Yes, but I can't say the same for her mate. It's touch and go."

Her mate? Montana was fine, she was alive. Who was her mate? My face fell, only one vampire was unaccounted for… Aro. Oh no, please no. I didn't waste any time. I grabbed Bella under my arm and took off running. I needed to see her with my own eyes. We got to the cabin in record time and I sat Bella down on the porch. We shared a look before I opened up the door.

The door swung open and I breathed a sigh of relief. There was Montana, not a scratch on her, standing on the other side. I didn't hesitate. I swooped her up in my arms and crushed her body to mine. I was so happy. She was okay, she was alive. I set her down and Bella hugged her just as tight. She was alive. I felt like the luckiest man on this earth. Bella let her go and Montana stood in front of us with a strength and beauty I had never seen from her. She didn't look like her tender age of eleven, she looked so much older.

We all stood their quietly. I wanted her to speak first, eventually she did.

"I do not regret what I did," she spoke confidently. She wasn't scared of me and I admired that. "My mate was about to die and I had to save him. Without him I would be dead. It was a calculated risk that I was willing to take."

My angel, so smart, so courageous. Her mate? Aro. I stepped around her and headed for the bedroom. If it was Aro then I guess I'd just have to deal with it. I took a deep breath and opened up the door. I caught sight of the injured vampire on the bed and my eyes closed tightly. I turned back around and faced my daughter.

"He's your mate?" I asked, having a hard time believing it. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Montana answered and she lifted her shield completely. I could feel her love for him. It almost rivaled my own to Bella's. It was so strong.

"How?" I asked confused.

"The first time he saw me with my shield down he called me beautiful. I knew then."

"What's going on?" Bella asked stepping up to join my side.

"It's Garrett," I whispered. "Her mate is Garrett."

She looked into the room and gasped in shock. "How did this happen?" Bella asked me.

"I don't know," I answered, turning my attention back to Montana. "Explain," is all I said to her.

"Garrett was always mine, Kate was just holding onto him for me."

"Did Kate know this?" I asked my daughter.

"No," Montana answered. "They both thought they were in love, that they were mated, but they just wanted their special someone so badly that they made false bonds."

It made sense. It was what would have happened between Bella and Edward if I hadn't intervened. They would have met and fallen in love, but it wouldn't have been true love. They would have willed the bonds of mateship to happen, but it would have been a lie and deep down they never would have been happy.

"How do I have this?" I asked Montana as I pulled Garrett's necklace out of my pocket and handed it to her. "He never takes it off."

"Aro," she answered sadly. "I came onto the scene just as Aro used the necklace to rip Garrett's head off. I was under my shield, fueled by my anger and pain. I kicked Aro into the fire he had made for Kate's body and I kept kicking him down. Every time he got up, I kicked him back into the flames until he burned. The second he was gone I shielded Garrett, picking him up, both parts." She shuddered, looking past us to check on her mate. "I ran here. I didn't know if you would win. I knew the house would be an easy target. I needed a safe place, somewhere unknown, so I came here. I kept my shield up and I held his head as it slowly fused back on. He's not doing too good, but he's alive."

I walked into the room to get a closer look at Garrett. He was asleep, eyes closed, not moving, but you could see that his vampire venom was doing its job, it was healing him. Fusing his head back to his body. This injury would take a long time to heal, but it would heal. All that would be left would be a faint scar. My baby girl had saved Garrett, she had saved her mate. I breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone was okay, everyone was fine. Yes, we still lost Kate, but I was happy to know that she was now with her sisters. She was with Tanya, and we would never forget her sacrifice.

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><p><strong>AN- **Well, yeah. I've had the idea for Garrett to be Montana's mate for a long while now.

Next chapter is the last and it will jump into the future to see how everyone's doing and for Monroe to get his mate.

Review for the second last time.


	75. Chapter 75

**A/N- **The last chapter… We made it.

Thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed this story at some point in time and an even bigger thank you to those of you who tried to review every chapter, you know who you are. I read every single one of them and even replied to them all in recent months. I did take about a year off in the middle of this story, but I came back and I finished it off and personally that makes me feel so proud.

I will not take up all your time here, but I do want to mention that this is the last chapter and there will be no sequel. I am so sad to see it go, but it's time for me to move on.

This chapter will be from Monroe's point of view, but you'll still get to see Jasper and Bella through his eyes.

Enjoy… for the last time.

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><p><strong>Monroe's POV<strong>

_Six years later…_

I was finally full grown, I couldn't believe it. My life may have been short compared to that of a human, but I was so happy to have stopped growing. I looked into the mirror and it was as though my father was looking back at me. We did look strikingly similar. Only two differences, my hair was brown and my eyes were blue. I walked out of the bathroom and headed for the main room. My sister Montana was so beautiful. Her long blonde hair was slightly curled and her side fringe covered one of her soulful brown eyes. I loved her brown eyes most. They reminded me of the color of mom's human eyes. I missed mom's human side. I used to lie on her chest and just listen to her heart beat underneath her skin, it was one of my favorite things to do as a small child. The tradeoff wasn't so bad though. I got to witness my mom reach her full potential. Dad was right, she was made to become a vampire. She was so fierce, yet compassionate, and I was more scared of her than dad.

"What are you doing?" Monty asked me as I sat down next to her on the couch. "You're all dressed up."

I looked down at my outfit. I was just in a pair of dark grey jeans, dad's old motorcycle boots, a white shirt and dad's motorcycle jacket. I looked hot, I knew that.

"They're just clothes." I smiled at my sister. "Where's Garrett?"

My sister's mate Garrett had recovered fully from Aro's attack, but it had taken years. Once his head was fused, his body had to work on re-connecting everything else. Montana never left his side and his first words when he could finally speak again were, 'you're still so beautiful'. It was a heart touching moment, if you were a girl… No, even I could see that it was. I had been dubbed a little Romeo when I was younger and I still was, but I didn't go around showing it anymore. I was reserving it all for my mate. I let out a sigh. My mate… Soon.

"Garrett's in court with mom and dad, it's trials day."

Trials day, I loved that day. Mom and dad had worked hard on their hierarchy and laws, and over the years it grew stronger and stronger and eventually they began their fair rule and the vampires fell in line. Though there were still some vampires who liked to disobey the rules, but they were swiftly dealt with.

"Did dad finally let you two date yet?" I asked. Once it was found out that Garrett was Montana's mate strict guidelines were set in place by dad. No touching, no kissing, no being alone together… It was a long list. Montana never cared though. She was just glad Garrett was alive and healing. She was happy to wait as long as it took.

"No, but I'm wearing him down. I know he's old fashioned so I'm going to suggest a chaperoned date, that or a double date with him and mom." Monty let out a laugh and I joined in.

My dad would never go for a double date.

"What about you, baby brother?" Monty asked.

"What?" I feigned confusion.

"When are you going to go and get your mate? Is that why you're so dressed up today?" I stayed silent. "You know, it was sweet of you to wait until I was allowed to date Garrett before you professed your love to your mate, but it wasn't necessary."

I let out a scoff. "I didn't wait because of you. I waited for other more important reasons."

"Sure, sure. So are you going to go and get her? You've said you've known who it is for years now."

My sister was right. I knew exactly who my mate was. I could feel my connection to them, I had for years, but it hadn't been the right time yet, plus I wanted to wait until I was of age so that mom and dad couldn't stop me from seeing her. I knew that once she was in my life I would never be able to let her go again.

"Yes, okay," I finally caved. "I'm going to go and see her, tell her I love her, everything."

"Can I come?" Monty asked.

"Oh, hell no," I responded. No way. That would be a disaster.

"Monroe!" Rose admonished from the other side of the room. "Hell is not a word we use."

"Sorry, Aunt Rose." I had enough sense to look embarrassed.

"Fine, go by yourself then, Romeo. Are you going to tell mom and dad that you're leaving?"

"No!" I replied quickly. They wouldn't allow me to leave all alone. And it's not even due to the bear attack any more, it's due to their power. I hate having guards.

"We've always had guards," Montana reminded me. "How are you going to slip past them?"

"Easy," I responded with a smirk. "I was a distraction for you once, so it's time for you to return the favor."

That memory was always a bittersweet memory. It was the day of the fight against Aro and the Denali's. Montana had told me silently that she had to leave, that her mate was in trouble. I created a distraction and she slipped out. Once everyone in the room realized, they weren't happy at all, but it didn't matter because Montana was out of the room and no one dared to follow her. Not long after she left I couldn't hear her anymore and it cut me deeply, she was just gone. And then when mom and dad came back without her, I just broke. My sister, my best friend, was gone. Thankfully she wasn't stupid enough to get herself killed, and now she owed me the same favor in turn. A mate for a mate, or well, a distraction for a distraction. I let out a laugh.

"Okay, when are you leaving?"

"Soon, I want to see mom and dad first though, just in case something happens to me."

"Let me come with you, I can protect you," Monty pleaded me. She was always so protective of me, but I needed to stand on my own at some point.

"Sorry, Monty, I need you to stay here and keep my disappearance a secret. I will be fine," I promised her. I leaned over and kissed her forehead and stood up. "I'll send you a message when I need you to distract everyone. Be ready."

She nodded her head in response.

I walked downstairs and headed for the courtyard. Trials day really was one of my favorite days. Watching my mom and dad in action, seeing how badass they really were. It was the best. I walked along the columns until I was towards the back of the crowd. No one, but family knew who Montana and I really were, everyone just thought we were relatives of Jasper's who had been changed, and it worked out well. No one ever questioned it because why would they, hybrids didn't exist and we didn't look like immortal children anymore. Our hearts had slowed as had everything else. We were being overtaken by our vampire qualities fully and no one was ever the wiser. In a way, my sister and I got the best of both worlds. We got to be human without being breakable or slow, and we got to be a vampire with everything that comes with that.

"Come forward!" my mom beckoned and a dirty looking vampire stepped closer. Mom and dad were up on the second floor balcony, imposing their rule on everyone down below. "State your crime." Mom always gave them once chance and one chance only to confess. If they lied then the punishment would be ten times worse.

"I kidnapped a human girl in hopes of changing her when she turned eighteen," the vampire whispered.

I watched mom closely. She absolutely hated vampires who took underage humans as their own. It reminded her of what James had done to her, but mom never flinched. She was used to this. It was a common occurrence even though every vampire knew that we had a zero tolerance policy for it and the penalty was always death, no exceptions.

"Peter, Emmett," Dad spoke, "Kill him."

They didn't hesitate. Emmett grabbed the guy around his chest, trapping his arms and Peter pulled his head off. His body was quickly torn apart and thrown into the fire that always burned nearby during the trials.

"We have a zero tolerance policy for crimes of these natures against humans," Bella re-informed everyone who was here. "The penalty is always death."

No one dared to say anything.

_Now_, I mentally sent to my sister. It was time for me to go and get my mate. I stood where I was. My sister never failed to disappoint. She was the master of all scheming. So I wasn't surprised at all when she came out the door on the balcony and jumped into Garrett's waiting arms. Mom and dad turned their attention to the pair, as did everyone else. Montana pulled Garrett's head to hers and kissed him hard. I could feel dad's anger from here. I took that as my cue and quietly stepped away, disappearing into the forest.

I didn't get far before I noticed someone chasing me. I darted off to the left and looped back around, jumping on the back of my assailant. It was Teddy.

"Hey, Teddy," I said, smiling widely as I held onto his fur. "Walk me a ways?" I asked him.

Teddy bear was now a fully grown grizzly bear and he was the best. Emmett liked to argue that his dog Wolf was the best, but I had a bear, a fucking bear. Bear beats dog every time. I loved Teddy so much, he was always with me and Montana growing up. Though when he reached his full size mom and dad kicked him out of the house and into the forest, but we found him a good cave and taught him to hunt animals with us. He loved his new home, but visited the house all the time.

"I'm going to get my mate," I told Teddy as Teddy walked me through the forest slowly. "She's great. I'll introduce you to her when we get back. I bet she'll love you."

I allowed Teddy to take me for as long as my patience allowed me, but it wasn't very long. I jumped off his back, hugging his side, before taking off. I wanted my mate and I wanted her now. I had waited too long. I took off running and I didn't stop until I reached my destination. I slowed as I neared civilization and I followed the pull in my heart until I was standing in front of a diner. I stopped and looked in through the windows. I saw her, she was working behind the counter and I felt an overwhelming amount of hope. She was my future, I just knew it.

"Monroe," someone spoke and I turned around. I let out a sigh of relief when I noticed who it was.

"Hey, Grandpa." I walked up to him and gave him a hug.

Sue and Charlie had left the ranch not long after their baby boy, Gray, was born. As mom and dad gained more power it just wasn't safe for them anymore, the risk just wasn't worth it. We still saw each other, usually meeting someone in the middle, at a safe place.

I looked up as six year old Gray got out of Charlie's police cruiser, Sue following him. My smile grew wider. I kept my eyes on Gray until he noticed me.

"Monroe," Gray said excitedly as he ran to me and launched himself into my arms. I hugged him tightly.

"Hello, Gray."

"Hey, that's Uncle Gray to you." I let out a smile, technically he was right, but I wasn't going to call him that.

"Hi, Sue," I said as I put Gray back on his feet and hugged Sue.

"What are you doing here, Monroe?" she asked me.

"Oh, just following my heart," I answered.

"Does Bella and Jasper know you're here?" Charlie asked me.

"Of course," I lied, but Charlie could see right through me. "Look, my mate is here, in that diner. Can you wait out here whilst I go and talk to her?" I asked them politely. I would really prefer to do this without an audience.

Charlie was about to protest, but Sue stopped him.

"Of course, Monroe. Go on."

I smiled at her. I took a deep breath, I could do this. She was my mate, she would like me.

"Go get her," Gray said, slapping me on the backside.

"Gray!" Sue yelled, pulling him back.

I left the safety of my family and made my way into the diner. This was a small town and as soon as I stepped in everyone's eyes were on me, even my mates. I didn't hesitate in making my way over to her and standing in front of her. Thankfully everyone else had turned their attention back to their meals.

"Do I know you? You look familiar," she asked me and then flushed. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me, what can I get you?"

"I want you," my mouth answered before my brain had a chance to intervene. I wanted to slap myself for that one. I was just glad that Sue, Charlie and Gray didn't have superhuman hearing. "What I mean is… Angela, I like you, a lot."

"Do I know you?" she asked again, she was thinking really hard. "What is your name?"

"Monroe Jasper Whitlock, ma'am," I answered automatically and I watched as recognition crossed her face.

"Do you know Jasper Whitlock?" she asked me.

"Yes."

"Is he a relative of yours?" she asked me and I didn't want to lie to her at all.

"He's my father," I told her the truth and she gasped.

"That lying, cheating…" she petered off, not wanting to curse I suspect.

"Umm, Angela..." I waited until I had her attention. "My mother is Bella Swan, you're her friend correct? You were a bridesmaid at her wedding?"

"You're Bella and Jasper's boy?" she questioned confused. "How is that even possible?"

"Come home with me and I'll explain everything," I promised her.

"I can't. I'm working and I live here in Forks." She was scared.

"Angela, you belong with me," I told her, but she didn't seem to understand me. "You can leave. All of your siblings have moved on, they are in college. You don't need to stay here anymore. Come with me, Angela. Our future is together." Oh, this was coming out so wrong, where were my poems now. Dad was right, love made you stupid. "Come with me, please."

I didn't say anymore, I just stared at her. Okay, so maybe my love for her was seeping out, not that I could control my gift. What I felt, others felt. She seemed to be thinking about it, she was actually considering my offer.

"Okay," she accepted and I was so happy. She took off her apron and grabbed my outstretched hand. I brought her into a hug, not wanting to let go.

"Let's go," I told her as I led her outside. "I will explain everything on the way."

"Romeo," Charlie said as soon as we stepped outside and I froze. "I hope you didn't dazzle the poor girl with your words. Hi, Angela."

"Hi, Charlie… Oh, he must be your grandfather, this is all so strange."

"Angela, may I ask how you feel towards Monroe?" Sue asked and I was glad that she did. If I was smart I would have asked her this questioned before getting her to give up her current life for me.

Angela turned and looked up into my eyes.

"I don't know how to explain it," Angela responded. "My whole life I have looked after everyone else, my siblings, my parents, but I look at this man in front of me and I feel like for the first time in my life that someone will finally be looking after me. It's a wonderful and freeing feeling. My heart feels as though it's swelled and I just feel at complete peace. I think I love him."

I smiled so widely at her.

"It's because you're my mate," I told her.

"Like Bella and Jasper?" she asked and I nodded my head. "Oh. I always admired their strong bond and how they were able to trust and help each other so early on. Is that what we have?"

"It won't be exactly the same, but yes, pretty much."

"Wow." Yes, wow was right.

"Let's go. I want mom and dad to finally see that I have my mate. They're going to be so surprised that it's you."

"Let's go," Angela agreed boldly. I smiled at that. We said goodbye to Charlie, Sue and Gray. I went by Angela's place, so we could grab her stuff and take her car with us. Once we were in the car on the highway she turned to me. "Okay, explain this all."

"Gladly," I told her. "You came to my parents' wedding. You couldn't see me because I was hidden under my sister's shield."

"You have a sister?"

"Yes, a twin sister. Her name is Montana and I love her so much."

"I can't believe that Bella has twins. It's so crazy."

"Anyway, I saw you that day and I just knew that we belonged together. It's hard to explain, but I just felt drawn to you."

"Why did you wait for?"

"I was only nine at the time, too young to pursue you, but I kept you in my heart. I knew there would come a time when we could be together. I just had to wait for it. Plus you were still in school at the time."

"So you just waited?"

"Of course. We mate for life and I knew you were my mate."

"What are you exactly?" Angela asked the dreaded question.

"Human," I answered truthfully, but offered no more.

"Bella was human when she had you, what is Jasper?"

"He's, umm, a vampire."

"I knew it," Angela announced, fist pumping the air. "Sorry."

"No, need to apologize. I'm just glad you're not running for the hills."

"So you're half vampire, half human?" Angela asked.

"Yes, well I was. My human qualities seem to be disappearing, I'm not sure why exactly. Uncle Peter said he was going to research it."

"Do I have to become a vampire?" She asked. "Jasper didn't turn Bella into a vampire."

"You don't have to become a vampire, it's not a requirement. I'll explain the details of that later. As for mom and dad, well, mom was changed into a vampire about six years ago. You'll see once we get there. Do you have any more questions?"

"Not at the moment." Angela reached out and grabbed my hand. "Maybe one more?"

"Go ahead."

"So being your mate, that means we will be together forever?"

"Yes."

"And you're okay with that?"

"Angela," I breathed out. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. You're quiet, observant and very kind. My dad always said that you had the purest emotions he's ever felt and mom said that you never cared what others thought of you and what you did, that you only ever did what you thought was the right thing. You're a kind and gentle soul, Angela, just like me."

"Just like you? Tell me more about you?"

"There's not much to tell. I've only been alive for seven years. When I was younger I got the nickname of Romeo because I was big into reading poems and reciting their words to others, usually love poems. When I was eleven I stupidly got in a fight with two bears. I was almost killed." I heard her gasp and I pulled down my shirt to show her my scars. "Everyone expected me to be scarred because of it, but that's just not me. It wasn't the bear's fault, it was mine. I was young and stupid, but it wasn't all bad. I got Teddy out of it all."

"Teddy?"

"My pet grizzly bear, dad killed its parents and mom brought it home for Montana and I to look after. He's my friend."

"I can't wait to meet him."

"You'll love him, he's the sweetest. Do you have any other questions?"

"No, I just can't wait to see everyone again. I really enjoyed the wedding."

"I know," I agreed. "I watched you all night, but not in a creepy way at all."

"Are you sure you're Romeo?" Angela teased me.

"Yes," I replied, "My love for you just consumes me fully, Angela, I cannot think of anything else but you."

Angela turned red and nothing more was said. I drove as fast as I could. I was so thankful that Rose had taught me how to drive when I was younger. I was so excited to bring Angela to my home. We finally arrived and I pulled up to the back of the house. I got out and quickly ran around to help Angela out. She smiled at me.

"You're in trouble," Montana announced as she came down the steps with Garrett by her side.

"How?" I questioned back. "You were supposed to distract them and lie for me."

"I did, but then I caved." Monty was smirking at me. Great, just great. I wasn't worried though. Montana got a pardon for going into the battlefield after her mate, so surely I would get a pardon for going to Forks for my own.

"Angela, this is Montana, my sister."

"Nice to meet you finally," Montana walked over to us. "I'm the better half. I'm smarter, faster and stronger. That there is my mate Garrett."

"Angela, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"You're not going to try and eat me again are you?" Angela asked and I could tell she was scared. I put my arm around her.

"Don't pay attention to him," Montana told my mate. "Garrett jokes about snacking on everything. It's part of his charm actually."

"MONROE JASPER WHITLOCK!" Mom yelled from inside the house. Oh great, here it came.

It may have been a coward's move in some people's minds, but I grabbed Angela and placed her in front of me. I don't care what you said, my mom was a badass motherfucker and I didn't want to be on her bad side.

She came through the door and her eyes landed on Angela.

"Angela?" Mom questioned confused.

"Hi," Angela replied with a wave.

"Monroe, explain."

"Mom, meet Angela."

"I know who she is."

"My mate," I added and mom's anger disappeared completely.

"You mated with our little Romeo?" Bella asked in amazement. Angela nodded her head. "This is so perfect." Bella was down the steps in an instant and had Angela in her arms. "I've missed you so much, Angela."

"Me too, Bella, me too," Angela said, but her voice was strained.

"Mom, let her go, you're squashing her." I pulled my mom off my mate.

"Sorry," Bella replied.

"So you're a vampire and Jasper's a vampire?" Angela questioned out loud.

"Is that a problem?" Bella asked.

Angela shook her head no. "I only have one question."

"What is it?" I asked her concerned.

"When do I get to become a vampire?"

I shook my head, smiling like a fool. I finally had my mate and she was perfect for me. I looked at my sister and I could tell she felt exactly the same way about Garrett. Dad came out of the house and stood next to Bella. We were all so lucky to find out mates.

"What's Angela doing here?" Jasper asked confused.

"She's mated to our son," Bella explained to him and he looked shocked.

"Well, this is interesting," Dad finally spoke. "Trust one of you to mate to a vampire and the other to mate with a human. Welcome to the family, Angela."

"Thanks Jasper, or should I call you dad?"

"Oh god, please don't," dad groaned.

This was good. This was right. My family, the Whitlock's, ruled the Americas and we were known as fair, but firm rulers. I had the ranch, my family, my friends, my bear, and now I had my mate, and I had all of eternity to live out my life. I was lucky, so lucky. Life was just perfect and I would never waste one second of it. Never.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- **There it is, the end. I can hardly believe it. I hope you guys all enjoyed it.

Be sure to grab a copy of **my first novel**. You can still get it **for free**, as of Dec 2014, but it still may be free if you're reading this sometime in the future. All the info is on my profile page so check it out.

Okay, I think that's it. It's over. I may go cry, or celebrate, or eat cake. I'm not sure just yet, perhaps all three.

Thank you for your support.

PLEASE NOTE- If you want to keep up with me and my writing then be sure to like my Facebook author page **DC** **Nixon**. There's a link to it on my profile page. (FEB 2015)

I also have a new** Bella/Jasper story** called **Bringer of Darkness **which includes Darksper-ish and Badass Bella, check it out.


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